X  I  E.  R.  A  FL  Y 

OF  THE 
U  N  IVERSITY 
or    ILLI  NOIS 


917.1 

C35vEb 

1922 

v.l 


LlfiRARV 


THE 

VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS  OF 

SAMUEL  DE  CHAMPLAIN 

VOL.  I 


Photographic  Facsimile  (reduced)  of  Champlain's  Map  of  New  France,  prepared  in  1632. 


The  Voyages  and 
Explorations  of 

Samuel  de  Champlain 

1604-1616  5 

Narrated  by  Himself 

TRANSLATED  BY 

Aitnie  Nettleton  Bourne 

together  with 

The  Voyage  of  1603 

Reprinted  from  PURCHAS  HIS  PILGRIMES 

EDITED  WITH  INTRODUCTION 
AND  NOTES  BY 

Edward  Gaylord  Bourne 

Professsor  of  History  in  Yale  Universitf 
ILLUSTRATED 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES 

Volume  I 


MCMXXII 

ALLERTON  BOOK  CO. 

New  York 


Copyright,  1904.  by 

Williams-Barker  Co. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


v^  1— J 


7./ 


SPECIAL  INTRODUCTION 

The  history  of  Western  Civilization  be- 
gins in  a  conflict  with  the  Orient,  a  conflict 
of  which  it  maybe  the  end  is  not  yet.  But 
the  routes  between  East  and  West  have 
been  trodden  by  the  caravans  of  trade  more 
often  even  than  by  the  feet  of  armies.  The 
treasures  of  the  East  were  long  brought 
overland  to  Alexandria,  or  Constantinople, 
or  the  cities  of  the  Levant,  and  thence  dis- 
tributed to  Europe  by  the  galleys  of  Genoa 
or  of  Venice.  But  when  the  Turk  placed 
himself  astride  the  Bosporus,  and  made 
Egypt  his  feudatory,  new  routes  had  to  be 
found.  In  the  search  for  these  were  made 
the  three  greatest  voyages  in  history,  those 
of  Columbus,  of  Vasco  da  Gama,  and — 
greatest  of  all — of  Magellan. 

In  his  search  for  the  riches  of  Cipangu 
Columbus  stumbled  upon  America.  The 
great  Genoese  lived  and  died  under  the  il- 
lusion that  he  had  reached  the  outmost 
verge  of  Asia ;  and  though  even  in  his  life- 
time men  realized  that  what  he  had  found 
:was  no  less  than  a  new  world,  America 

5444:61 


INTRODUCTION 

was  long  looked  on  as  an  unwelcome  ob- 
stacle of  unknown  extent  across  the  path 
of  the  Eastern  trader.  Farther  and  far- 
ther men  ranged  the  coast,  seeking  into 
every  bay  and  estuary,  in  the  vain  hope 
that  the  South  Sea  might  open  to  their 
gaze.  To  southwards,  Magellan  found  a 
strait,  but  the  journey  was  long  and  dan- 
gerous, and  open  only  to  the  ships  of 
Spain.  To  northwards  France  took  up  the 
search,  and  it  was  in  quest  of  the  Orient 
that  Jacques  Cartier  put  out  from  St.  Malo. 
For  a  moment  Chaleur  Bay  seemed  to 
liim  the  strait  of  his  dream,  but  soon  he 
came  to  its  end,  "whereof  we  were  much 
torn  with  grief,"  he  says  in  his  quaint  old 
French.  On  his  next  voyage  he  went  in 
vain  up  the  St.  Lawrence  as  far  as  Mon- 
treal ;  but  the  terrors  of  a  Canadian  winter, 
with  its  attendant  scurvy,  and  the  still 
greater  horrors  of  the  Wars  of  Religion, 
for  the  next  half-century  restricted  the 
French  to  fishing  voyages  to  Newfound- 
land and  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  With 
the  Peace  of  Vervins  and  the  Edict  b£ 
Nantes  in  1598,  France  had  rest  from  for- 
eign and  civil  strife,  and  turned  again  to 
the  nobler  task  of  exploration.  This  was 
the  quest  to  which  the  sea-captain  of 
Brouage,  Samuel  de  Champlain,  gave  the 

ii 


INTRODUCTION 

best  years  of  his  life,  "always  travelling 
with  an  hungry  heart,"  with  the  great 
South  Sea  ever  a  day's  journey  in  advance. 
Tired  at  last,  he  gave  himself  up  to  estab- 
lish on  the  rock  of  Quebec  a  station  from 
which  his  successors  might  fare  forth.  In 
his  search  for  the  South  Sea  he  had  been 
the  first  great  explorer  of  Canada,  and  this 
series  of  'Trail  Makers  of  the  North" 
appropriately  begins  with  his  undaunted 
name. 

As  the  new  world  opened  out,  the  search 
for  the  Orient  took  a  second  place.  Even 
in  the  days  of  Champlain,  his  partners 
thought  chiefly  of  trade  with  the  natives^ 
and  in  the  next  two  centuries  a  series  of 
great  fur-trading  companies,  English  and 
French,  took  toll  of  the  country,  and 
pushed  ever  farther  west  and  north. 
Among  these,  too,  there  were  great-hearted 
dreamers,  men  who  "yearned  beyond  the 
sky-line  where  the  strange  roads  go  down," 
and  of  such  was  Alexander  Mackenzie.  His 
great  voyage  to  the  mouth  of  the  mighty 
river  which  bears  his  name  was  made  in 
1789;  four  years  later  he  had  pierced  the 
Rockies,  and  come  out  upon  the  shores  of 
the  Pacific ;  first  of  white  men  to  cross  the 
continent  by  land,  the  Highland  Scot  had 
made  true  the  dream  of  Champlain. 

iii 


INTRODUCTION 

As  the  West  revealed  its  vastness,  men 
gave  themselves  to  its  exploration.  An- 
other great  fur-trader,  indefatigable  as  Mac- 
kenzie, was  the  New  Englander,  Daniel 
Williams  Harmon.  If  his  voyages  did  less 
for  geography,  they  tell  us  even  more  of 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  old  lords 
of  the  prairies,  ere  yet  Canada  had  entered 
upon  the  experiment  of  seeking  to  make  in 
the  West  a  great  civilization  from  the  off- 
scourings of  Europe. 

To  these  records  has  been  added  "The 
Wild  North  Land,"  a  journal  of  the  youth- 
ful travels  of  the  late  General  Sir  William 
Butler.  The  record  of  his  adventures  adds 
hardly  less  than  Harmon  to  our  knowledge 
of  a  vanishing  race,  and  also  shows  that  in 
these  later  days  the  hardihood  of  the  Celt 
is  as  cheery  and  as  unflinching  as  in  the 
day  of  Champlain  and  of  Mackenzie. 

To  the  travels  of  Mackenzie,  Harmon 
and  Butler  I  have  contributed  short  intro- 
ductions. That  to  the  voyages  of  Cham- 
plain  is  by  the  late  Professor  Bourne  of 
Yale,  whose  premature  death  is  mourned 
by  every  student  of  early  American  history. 

W.  L.  Grant. 


IV 


INTRODUCTION 

Samuel  de  Champlain  was  the  first  ex- 
plorer to  make  a  detailed  examination  of 
the  coast  of  New  England  and  Nova  Scotia 
and  to  prepare  a  full  and  accurate  report  of 
his  observations.    To  him,  likewise,  we  are 
indebted  for  our  earliest  exact  accounts  of 
the    Indians    of    New    England,    eastern 
Canada  and  New  York.    To  the  Canadian 
he  is  more  than  the  explorer  and  the  acute 
observer  of  the  native  life ;  he  is  the  founder 
of  New  France  and  at  the  same  time  the 
chief  of  its  early  historians.     To  the  stu- 
dent of  history  to-day,  in  addition  to  all  this, 
he  stands  forth  as  perhaps  the  ablest  of  the 
earlier  makers  of  America,  a  leader  of  in- 
defatigable energy  and  sterling  character,  a 
Frenchman  who  devoted  his  life  to  extend- 
ing the  name  and  power  of  France  and  the 
civilizing  influences   of  the  Church.     His 
fame  is  impregnably  established  and  grows 
with  the  lapse  of  time  and  the  extension  of 
knowledge  of  his  work. 

In  view  of  all  these  facts  it  is  surprising 
that  his  writings  have  to  so  slight  a  degree 

V 


INTRODUCTION 

been  accessible  to  the  English  reader.  His 
earliest  account  of  the  Indians  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  River  region,  published  in  Paris 
in  1604  under  the  title  Des  Sauvages,  ou, 
Voyage  de  Sammuel  Champlain  de  Brouage 
faict  en  la  France  Nouvelle,  Van  mil  six 
cens  trois,  was  made  English  and  published 
in  Purchas  His  Pilgrimes,  London,  1625. 
In  1859  the  Hakluyt  Society  brought  out  an 
English  version  of  his  Brief  Discours 
des  choses  plus  remarquables  que  Sammuel 
Champlain  de  Brouage  a  reconneues  aux 
hides  Occidentalles  an  voiage  qu'il  en  a 
faict  en  iceles  en  I'annee  mil  V^.  IIII^^ 
XIX  &  en  I'annee  mil  Vi'^  I  (1598-1601), 
under  the  title  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  the 
West  Indies  and  Mexico,  i^pg-1602.  The 
original  remained  unpublished  until  1870, 
when  the  Abbe  Laverdiere  published  his 
CEuvres  de  Champlain. 

It  was  not  until  1878,  some  270  years 
after  his  exploration  of  the  New  England 
coast,  that  New  Englanders  and  others  un- 
familiar with  French  could  read  the  earliest 
descriptions  of  the  shores  since  so  rich  in 
historic  associations,  whose  picturesque  va- 
riety of  scenery  and  invigorating  air  have 
rendered  them  familiar  and  even  dear  to 
thousands  of  fortunate  sojourners  from 
every  part  of  our  country  who  have  only 

vi 


INTRODUCTION 

this  transitory  connection  with  New  Eng- 
land. In  that  year  the  Prince  Society 
began  the  pubhcation,  under  the  learned  edi- 
torial care  of  Reverend  Edmund  F.  Slafter, 
of  an  English  translation  of  all  of  Cham- 
plain's  narratives  of  explorations  on  the 
New  England  coast,  in  New  York,  and  in 
Canada  down  to  the  year  1617,  when  his 
activity  in  exploration  gave  place  to  efforts 
to  build  up  Quebec.  The  translation  was 
entrusted  to  a  highly  competent  scholar, 
the  late  Charles  Pomeroy  Otis,  at  that  time 
Professor  of  Modern  Languages  in  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  The 
translation,  the  editorial  notes  and  the  biog- 
raphy of  Champlain  by  Mr.  Slafter,  formed 
a  whole  which  was  highly  honorable  to 
American  scholarship  and  imposed  lasting 
obligations  upon  every  student  of  Cham- 
plain's  career.  Yet  the  edition  was  strictly 
limited  and  is  now  to  be  found  only  in  the 
richer  public  or  private  collections  of 
Americana.  Equally  scarce  and  expensive 
is  Laverdiere's  collected  edition  of  Cham- 
plain's  works  in  the  original. 

It  remains  true,  then,  even  after  all  the 
loving  labors  that  Laverdiere,  Slafter  and 
Otis  have  devoted  to  the  publication  and 
elucidation  of  Champlain's  writings,  that 
they  are  still  a  closed  book  to  that  rapidly 

vii 


INTRODUCTION 

growing  body  of  readers  who  are  interested 
in  the  original  narratives  of  the  explorers, 
the  earliest  observations  of  the  Indians  as 
yet  uncontaminated  by  contact  with  Euro- 
peans, and  the  local  history  of  New  England 
and  Canada.  No  more  fitting  addition, 
therefore,  to  The  Trailmakers'  Series  could 
be  made  than  a  satisfactory  popular  edition 
of  Champlain's  own  narrative  of  his  ex- 
plorations. In  such  an  edition  the  transla- 
tion should  be  both  accurate  and  readable, 
and  the  notes  should  be  as  brief  and  clear  as 
possible.  To  fulfill  these  requirements,  the 
translator  and  the  editor  have  made  an 
earnest  effort. 

The  Prince  Society  Edition  of  Cham- 
plain's  Voyages  contains  translations :  I, 
of  the  narrative  entitled,  Des  Sauvages,  ou. 
Voyage  of  Sammuel  Champlain  de  Brou' 
age  faict  en  la  France  Nouvelle,  en  Van  mil 
six  cens  trois,  etc.,  i.  e.,  the  voyage  of  1603, 
with  its  description  of  the  Indians ;  2,  of 
the  narrative  of  1613,  entitled,  Les  Voyages 
du  Sieur  de  Champlain  Xaintongeois,  Capi^ 
iaine  ordinaire  pour  le  Roy  en  la  Marine, 
Devises  en  deux  livres,  ou  Journal  tres^ 
Udele  des  Observations  faites  es  descouver- 
tures  de  la  Nouvelle  France;  tant  en  la  de- 
scription des  terres,  costes,  rivieres,  ports, 
havres,  leurs  hauteurs  et  plusieurs  decli- 

viii 


INTRODUCTION 

naisons  de  la  guide  aymant;  qu'en  la 
creance  des  peuples,  leur  superstitionSy 
fagon  de  vivre  &  de  guerroyer,  etc.,  Paris, 
MDCXIII;  3,  Qiiatriesme  Voyage  du  S^ 
de  Champlain,  Capitaine  ordinaire  pour  le 
Roy  en  la  Marine  &  Lieutenant  de  Mon- 
seigneur  le  Prince  de  Conde  en  la  Nouvelle 
France,  fait  en  I'annee  idij  (2  and  3  were 
published  in  the  same  volume  in  1613) ;  and 
4,  Voyages  et  Descouvertures  faites  en  la 
Nouvelle  France  depuis  I'annee  161^,  jus^ 
ques  a  la  in  de  I'annee  1618,  Par  le  Sieur 
de  Champlain,  Capitaine  ordinaire  pour  le 
Roy  en  la  mer  du  Ponant,  Paris,  1619. 

As  the  authorities  of  the  Prince  Society 
were  unwilling  to  consent  to  have  their 
translation  reissued  in  a  popular  form,  two 
courses  were  open  for  those  who  had  in 
hand  the  preparation  of  a  popular  edition: 
either  these  narratives  could  be  translated 
over  again  without  the  expectation  of  mak- 
ing any  considerable  improvement  on  Mr. 
Otis's  work,  or  an  English  version  could  be 
undertaken  of  that  portion  of  Champlain's 
own  final  edition  of  his  works  which  relates 
to  his  explorations.  This  final  edition  was 
published  in  1632  under  the  title :  Les  Voy- 
ages de  la  Nouvelle  France  Occidental 
dicte  Canada,  faits  par  le  S^  de  Champlain 
'Xainctongeois,  Capitaine  pour  le  Roy  en  la 

ix 


INTRODUCTION 

Marine  dii  Ponant  &  toutes  les  DescouveV' 
turesqu'il  a  faites  en  ce  pais  depuis  Vanidos, 
jusqnes  en  I'an  i62p,  etc.  The  latter  course 
was  chosen,  for  two  reasons.  First,  this 
compilation,  although  hastily  prepared,  is  in 
a  very  definite  sense  a  revised  and  final  edi- 
tion by  the  author  of  his  earlier  publications. 
This  is  shown  by  the  frequent  corrections 
in  estimates  of  distances  and  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  omissions.  Second,  in  this  edi- 
tion Champlain  appears  not  only  as  a  nar- 
rator of  his  own  explorations,  but  as  the 
historian  of  the  earlier  French  discoveries 
and  as  the  earliest  French  writer  on  colo- 
nization. His  criticisms  and  judgments  on 
the  various  aspects  of  the  colonial  experi- 
ments that  he  records  help  us  to  under- 
stand his  point  of  view  and  the  French  point 
of  view  in  regard  to  a  number  of  important 
questions  of  colonial  policy  in  regard  to 
which  the  English  practice  was  different. 

The  narrative  of  1632,  then,  contains  all 
the  essentials  of  the  earlier  narratives,  ar- 
ranged in  a  systematic  historical  form,  and, 
in  addition,  a  sketch  of  the  earlier  French 
explorations  and  many  interesting  reflec- 
tions on  colonial  policy.  It  is  true  the  Abbe 
Laverdiere  was  inclined  to  think  that  this 
narrative  was  edited  by  a  hand  unfriendly 
to  the  Recollect  friars  and  favorable  to  the 


INTRODUCTION 

Jesuits,  because  so  many  particulars  related 
to  the  Recollects  in  the  earlier  narratives 
are  omitted  in  the  narrative  of  1632.  I  have 
examined  each  omission  and  am  convinced 
that  this  conclusion  is  erroneous.  In  dove- 
tailing several  narratives  of  successive  voy- 
ages into  a  history,  Champlain  had  it  in 
mind  to  present  a  continuous  story  of  ex- 
plorations, and  he  omitted  details  unessen- 
tial for  that  purpose.  A  very  competent 
scholar  who  has  made  extensive  critical  re- 
searches into  the  early  literature  of  New 
France  writes  of  this  opinion  of  Laver- 
diere,  'T  cannot  find  any  grounds  for  ac- 
cepting it."^ 

Again,  the  statement  in  the  preface  to 
the  translation  in  the  Prince  Society  edition, 
I,  219,  that  the  narrative  of  1632  ''is  an 
abridgement,  and  not  a  second  edition  in 
any  proper  sense.  It  omits  for  the  most 
part  personal  details  and  descriptions  of  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  Indians,  so 
that  very  much  that  is  essential  to  the  full 
comprehension  of  Champlain's  work  as  an 
observer  and  explorer  is  gone,"  is  most  mis- 
leading and  can  only  be  accounted  for  on 
the  ground  that  the  writer  had  not  care- 

*  See  H.  P.  Biggar,  The  Early  Trading  Co?n- 
panies  of  New  France^  279-280,  where  the  case  is 
gone  into  in  some  detail. 

xi 


INTRODUCTION 

fully  studied  the  1632  edition,  and  had  been 
unduly  influenced  by  the  summary  way  in 
which  Champlain  treated  the  voyage  of 
1603.  In  the  present  edition  attention  is 
called  in  the  notes  to  nearly  all  the  cases 
where  the  narrative  of  1632  omits  interest- 
ing details  found  in  the  earlier  narratives. 

The  voyage  of  1603  is  very  briefly  re- 
counted in  this  final  narrative  to  avoid  need- 
less repetition.  The  geographical  features 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  were  more  fully  and 
accurately  described  in  Champlain's  later 
voyages,  and  his  observations  upon  the  In- 
dians in  1603,  so  far  as  they  were  confirmed 
by  later  study,  he  incorporated  with  his  later 
descriptions. 

In  this  edition,  however,  it  has  been 
thought  best  to  include  Purchases  version  of 
the  voyage  of  1603,  even  at  the  risk  of  some 
repetition,  in  order  to  place  before  the  mod- 
ern reader  Champlain's  first  impressions, 
unrevised,  of  the  Indians  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, and  the  geographical  details  of  this 
first  voyage,  especially  when  it  could  be 
done  in  so  fine  an  example  of  early  seven- 
teenth century  prose.  This  will  be  relished, 
I  am  sure,  not  only  for  its  own  beauty,  but 
also  because  it  lends  Champlain's  story  the 
antique  flavor  which  his  own  writing  has 
for  the  modern  Frenchman. 

xii 


INTRODUCTION 

The  translation  of  that  part  of  the  1632 
edition  of  Champlain's  Voyages  here  given 
(Laverdiere,  Voyages,  1632,  I,  pp.  1-309) 
was  undertaken  by  my  wife,  who  devoted 
herself  assiduously  to  the  task.    As  editor, 
I  have  gone  over  the  text,  carefully  com- 
paring it  with  the  original  for  verification 
and  occasional  revision.    That  it  is  entirely 
free  from  misconceptions  or  mistakes  can- 
not be  expected,  nor  will  such  expectations 
be  entertained  by  any  who  have  had  exf)eri- 
ence  in  preparing  translations.     We  have, 
however,  made  especial  efforts  to  reduce 
auch  slips  to  the  minimum. 
._^In    the    preparation    of   the    translation 
.,4nuch  help  was   derived  from  Mr.   Otis's 
work,  but  in  the  same  way  that  a  translator 
to-day  of  Herodotus  or  Thucydides  could 
and  would  legitimately  be  aided  by  the  ver- 
sions of  Rawlinson  or  Jowett.    As  the  texts 
used  by  Mr.  Otis  and  by  Mrs.  Bourne  are 
often  almost  identical  for  pages  at  a  time, 
the  versions  unavoidably  have  much  in  com- 
mon.   For  innumerable  French  sentences  in 
direct  narrative  prose  there  is   a  natural 
English  equivalent  that  would  occur  to  in- 
dependent translators  in  substantially  iden- 
tical form.  In  such  cases,  to  give  a  studiedly 
varied  form  of  expression  would  be  most 
unprofitable,    and    such   a   practice   would 

xiii 


INTRODUCTION 

place  a  progressively  heavy  handicap  on 
each  successive  translator. 

In  preparing  the  notes,  the  voluminous 
commentaries  of  the  Abbe  Laverdiere  and 
Mr.  Slafter  have  been  freely  drawn  upon, 
but  in  most  cases  the  source  of  the  note 
has  been  indicated  by  the  initial  L.  or  S. 
Help  has  also  been  derived  from  Dr.  Sam- 
uel E.  Dawson's  valuable  History  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  Basin  and  from  Professor 
Ganong's  admirable  monograph  on  Docket 
(St.  Croix)  Island  (Transactions  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  Canada,  2d  Ser.,  VIII,  sec. 
IV,  127-231),  and  also  from  Professor  Gan- 
ong's Champlain's  Narrative  of  the  Ex- 
ploration and  First  Settlement  of  Acadia 
(Acadiensis,  IV,  179-216).  That  every 
modern  student  of  Champlain's  career  owes 
a  debt  to  Francis  Parkman,  both  for  kind- 
ling his  interest  and  extending  his  knowl- 
edge, goes  without  saying. 

The  proper  purposes  of  an  Introduction 
to  this  edition  of  Champlain's  Voyages 
would  not  be  met  without  a  sketch  of  the 
great  explorer's  life. 

Samuel  Champlain  was  born  at  Brouage, 
a  small  seaport  town  in  the  old  province  of 
Saintonge,  southeast  of  Roche  fort  and  op- 
posite the  island  of  Oleron,  about  the  year 
1567.    The  once  excellent  harbor  has  long 

xiv 


INTRODUCTION 

since  been  filled  in  by  the  sea,  and  the  little 
peasant  village  now  lies  nearly  two  miles  in- 
land. Although  Champlain  was  interested 
from  early  youth  in  the  art  of  navigation, 
his  first  known  voyage  was  one  to  Spain  in 
1598  with  his  uncle,  who  was  in  command 
of  a  French  ship  chartered  by  the  Spanish 
authorities.  Early  in  1599,  Champlain  was 
given  command  of  this  ship  for  the  voyage 
to  the  West  Indies  and  New  Spain  with 
the  annual  fleet.  His  observations  on  this 
voyage,  which  lasted  two  years,  he  recorded 
in  his  Brief  Disc  ours  des  Glioses  plus  re- 
marquables  .  .  .  reconneues  aux  hides 
Occident  alias,  the  earliest  French  account 
that  we  have  of  New  Spain.  To  this  jour- 
ney may  be  safely  attributed  the  beginnings 
of  Champlain's  interest  in  colonization,  and 
through  it  he  alone  of  all  the  great  leaders 
in  the  colonization  of  North  America  had 
the  privilege  of  observing  and  studying  a 
European  colony  before  he  tried  to  found 
one.  Soon  after  his  return  to  France, 
Champlain  was  enlisted  by  Aymar  de 
Chastes,  the  Governor  of  Dieppe,  to  make  a 
reconnoissance  of  the  St.  Lawrence  in  com- 
pany with  the  merchant  and  fur  trader, 
Francis  Grave,  Sieur  du  Pont,  a  citizen  of 
the  Breton  seaport,  St.  Malo.  De  Chastes 
had  secured  a  patent  from  King  Henry  IV 

XV 


INTRODUCTION 

and  had  formed  a  trading  company  under 
whose  patronage  a  settlement  was  to  be 
made  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  Champlain  and 
Pontgrave  (as  he  is  more  commonly  called) 
explored  the  St.  Lawrence  as  far  as  the 
rapids  above  Montreal,  and  later  the  country 
about  Gaspe.  Champlain's  account  of  this 
voyage,  published  in  1604,  he  entitled,  Des 
Sauvages,  ou  Voyage  de  Samuel  Champlain 
de  Brouage,  fait  en  la  France  Nouvelle  Van 
mil  six  cens  trois.  This  is  the  earliest  de- 
tailed description  we  have  of  the  Algon- 
quin Indians  of  eastern  Canada.^ 

When  Champlain  and  Pontgrave  returned 
they  learned  that  De  Chastes  had  died.  His 
place  as  the  promoter  of  a  French  colony  in 
the  New  World  was  taken  by  Pierre  du 
Gua  (or  Guast),  Sieur  de  Monts,  and  the 
site  selected  was  the  milder  region  to  the 
south  of  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
De  Monts  secured  a  charter  from  Henry  IV 


2< 


^See  vol.  II,  pp.  151-229.  The  attention  of  the 
reader  may  here  be  called  to  the  fact  that  while 
the  English  followed  the  Spanish  usage  started 
by  Columbus,  of  calling  the  aborigines  of  the 
New  World  "Indians,"  i.  e.,  people  of  the  In- 
dies, the  early  French  writers  adopted  the  simple 
descriptive  name  of  Sauvages,  which,  in  the  sev- 
enteenth century,  had  the  primary  meaning 
"wild,"  e.  g.,  as  in  herhes  sauvages,  "weeds,"  or 
the  English,  "wild  animals." 

x^'i 


INTRODUCTION 

similar  to  the  later  English  proprietary 
charters,  which  granted  him  all  the  region 
between  the  fortieth  and  forty-sixth  de- 
grees of  north  latitude,  or  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Cape  Breton  Island.^  De  Monts 
was  also  granted  the  monopoly  of  the  fur 
trade  from  Tadoussac  southward.  It  is  not 
necessary  here  to  go  into  the  history  of  this 
enterprise  which  provided  Champlain  the 
opportunity  to  make  the  first  careful  ex- 
ploration of  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  and 
New  England.  After  following  the  shore 
line  of  Nova  Scotia  round  into  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  and  exploring  its  more  sheltered 
waters,  De  Monts  and  his  associates  selected 
Dochet  Island  in  the  St.  Croix  River  as  the 
most  suitable  place  for  their  settlement,  in 
July,  1604.  During  August  and  September, 
Champlain  explored  the  coast  of  Maine  as 
far  west  as  Monhegan  Island,  almost  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec,  when  prudence 
dictated  a  return  to  the  settlement.  A  win- 
ter of  tragic  misery  bereft  the  little  colony 
of  half  its  numbers,  and  in  June,  1605,  De 

'  De  Monts's  charter  is  given  in  English  transla- 
tion in  the  Maine  Hist.  Soc,  Collections^  2d  series, 
VII,  2-6.  Three  years  later  James  I  of  England 
granted  the  Plymouth  Company  the  right  to  estab- 
lish a  colony  in  the  same  region,  completely  ignor- 
ing the  prior  grant  of  the  French  king  and  the 
rights  of  De  Monts  under  it. 

xvii 


INTRODUCTION 

Monts,  encouraged  by  the  return  of  his  as- 
sociate, Poutrincourt,  with  supplies,  under- 
took a  further  exploration  of  the  coast  to 
find  a  more  desirable  location  for  the  colony. 
The  new  ground  covered  in  this  reconnois- 
sance  was  the  shores  of  Maine,  New  Hamp- 
shire and  Massachusetts,  around  Cape  Cod 
as  far  as  Nauset  Harbour.  In  this  region, 
in  August,  1605,  came  their  first  clash  with 
the  Indians.  Upon  their  return  to  the  St. 
Croix,  the  explorers  found  that  Pontgrave 
had  arrived  from  France  with  reinforce- 
ments. It  was  then  decided  to  remove  the 
colony  across  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  the  more 
sheltered  location  of  Annapolis  Basin.  It 
was  now  given  the  name  Port  Royal.  In 
the  fall  De  Monts  returned  to  France. 

In  September,  1606,  another  attempt  was 
made,  this  time  by  Poutrincourt  and  Cham- 
plain,  to  find  a  more  favorable  site  for  the 
colony.  So  much  of  the  time  at  their  dis- 
posal, however,  was  consumed  in  following, 
contrary  to  Champlain's  advice,  along  the 
coast  already  explored,  that  the  only  real 
addition  to  their  previous  exploration  was 
the  short  stretch  from  Nauset  Harbour  to 
Wood's  Hole,  where  they  gave  the  name  of 
River  Champlain  to  the  tidal  passage;  a 
name  which  should  be  restored  to  that  tor- 
tuous channel,  as  a  memorial  of  the  ex- 
xviii 


INTRODUCTION 

plorer,  to  mark  the  limit  of  his  explorations 
in  New  England,  and  to  remind  the  thou- 
sands who  pass  the  spot  every  summer  of 
his  services  to  American  history  and  geog- 
raphy. In  1607,  De  Monts's  monopoly  of 
the  fur  trade  was  taken  away,  and  the  col- 
ony had  to  be  given  up  for  lack  of  resources 
to  meet  expenses.  After  a  brief  exploration 
of  the  Basin  of  Mines,  Champlain  and  his 
fellow-colonists  returned  to  France,  arriv- 
ing at  St.  Malo,  October  i,  1607. 

From  this  time  the  scene  of  Champlain's 
labors  and  plans  for  a  New  France  is  the 
St.  Lawrence  Basin.  In  April,  1608,  he  set 
sail  for  Canada  in  company  with  Pont 
Grave,  to  carry  on  the  further  exploration 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  as  the  lieutenant  of  De 
Monts,  to  whom  King  Henry  IV  granted  a 
monopoly  of  the  Indian  trade  for  one  year, 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  expedition. 
After  a  brief  excursion  up  the  Saguenay, 
Champlain  began  the  voyage  up  the  St. 
Lawrence  from  Tadoussac,  June  30,  1608. 
The  foundations  of  a  settlement  at  Quebec 
were  laid  on  July  3.  Hardly  was  this  work 
begun  when  Champlain  was  apprised  of  a 
plot  to  murder  him  and  sell  the  new  station 
to  the  Basques.  The  ringleader  was  hanged 
and  three  accomplices  were  sent  to  France 
for  punishment  when  Pont  Grave  returned 

xix 


INTRODUCTION 

in  September.  The  first  winter  at  Quebec 
was  a  repetition  of  the  cruel  hardships 
which  Cartier  had  suffered  there.  Ten  of 
the  Httle  company  died  of  scurvy  and  five  of 
dysentery.  Of  the  miseries  to  which  the 
Indians  were  reduced  in  the  long  Canadian 
winter,  Champlain  has  given  a  most  vivid 
picture. 

In  the  summer  of  1609,  Champlain,  to 
cement  his  friendship  with  the  Algonquins, 
which  he  regarded  as  an  indispensable  req- 
uisite for  a  successful  settlement  at  Que- 
bec, joined  in  one  of  their  war  parties 
against  the  Iroquois.  They  proceeded  up 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rich- 
elieu, which  was  then  followed  to  the  beau- 
tiful lake  to  which  Champlain  gave  his  own 
name  after  a  victorious  encounter  with  the 
Iroquois  at  Ticonderoga.  In  September, 
1609,  Champlain  returned  to  France  to  re- 
port to  De  Monts  and  to  the  King. 

The  early  spring  of  16 10  found  him 
again  on  his  way  to  New  France,  where  he 
again  joined  a  war  party  against  the  Iro- 
quois, who  were  ensconced  in  a  barricade 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Richelieu.  His  reasons 
for  such  participation  in  these  Indian  wars 
he  gives  at  length  in  his  narrative.  This 
year  saw  no  new  exploration,  and  Cham- 
plain returned  to  France  in  the  fall. 

XX 


INTRODUCTION 

In  the  spring  of  1611,  after  his  arrival  In 
Canada,  Champlain  went  up  the  St.  Law- 
rence to  IMontreal  to  meet  the  band  of  Al- 
gonquins  with  whom  he  had  left,  for  the 
winter,  one  of  his  men,  presumably  Etienne 
Brule,  to  make  observations.  On  this  oc- 
casion Champlain  had  the  thrilling  experi- 
ence of  shooting  the  Lachine  Rapids  in  a 
canoe.  He  was  the  second  European  to  ac- 
complish this  feat,  in  which  he  was  antici- 
pated only  by  Brule  a  few  days  earlier.  In 
August,  161 1,  Champlain  returned  to 
France,  where  he  remained  until  161 3,  when 
he  undertook  one  of  his  most  important  ex- 
plorations, that  up  the  Ottawa  to  verify  the 
reports  of  the  mendacious  voyageur  named 
Nicholas  de  Vignaud,  who  asserted  that  he 
had  been  to  the  sea  on  the  north  (Hudson 
Bay).  The  incident  of  the  discovery  of  De 
Vignaud's  deceit  is  one  of  the  most  dra- 
matic in  Champlain's  narratives.  Although 
he  was  profoundly  disappointed  not  to  reach 
the  sea,  as  he  had  hoped,  he  explored  the 
Ottawa  beyond  the  site  of  the  present  city 
of  that  name,  as  far  as  Allumette  Island, 
and  made  some  of  the  most  interesting  ob- 
servations of  Indian  manners  and  customs 
that  his  works  contain. 

During  these  years  the  work  of  the  ex- 
plorer was  constantly  impeded  by  the  con- 

xxi 


INTRODUCTION 

tending  interests  of  rival  fur  traders. 
Champlain  felt  that  the  only  practical  way 
to  deal  with  the  Indians  and  to  advance  the 
interests  of  a  settlement  was  through  the 
agency  of  a  responsible  monopoly,  and  that 
free,  unregulated  competition  in  dealing 
with  Indians  by  rival  traders  would  be  de- 
moralizing to  all  concerned.  On  the  other 
hand,  every  grant  of  a  monopoly  called 
forth  a  storm  of  protests  and  accusations 
from  the  traders  not  admitted  to  these  privi- 
leges, which,  they  asserted,  should  belong  to 
all  Frenchmen  in  common.  The  year  1614 
Champlain  spent  in  France,  trying  to  ad- 
just these  matters  and  arranging  for  the 
establishment  of  missions  among  the  In- 
dians. In  April,  161 5,  he  set  sail  for  New 
France  with  four  Recollect  friars,  who  thus 
began  one  of  the  most  wide-reaching  and 
imposing  missionary  enterprises  of  mod- 
ern times. 

It  was  an  eventful  year  also  In  Cham- 
plain's  experience,  for  it  was  marked  by 
the  discovery  of  Lake  Huron  and  Lake  On- 
tario, an  attack  on  the  Iroquois  in  central 
New  York,  and  a  winter  in  an  Indian  vil- 
lage. Following  his  route  of  161 3,  up  the 
Ottawa,  he  continued  his  exploration  west- 
ward to  Lake  Nipissing  and  thence  to  the 
shores  of  Lake  Huron.  The  Huron  In- 
xxii 


INTRODUCTION 

dians  that  he  found  in  this  region,  familiar 
now  to  many  holiday-seekers  as  the  Mus- 
koka  Lake  country,  were  planning  an 
expedition  against  one  of  the  home  strong- 
holds of  the  Iroquois,  far  to  the  south, 
across  Lake  Ontario.  Champlain  embraced 
the  opportunity  to  accompany  them  to  see 
something  of  the  region  which  the  Dutch 
fur  traders  were  penetrating  by  way  of  the 
Hudson.  The  attack  upon  the  Iroquois  fort, 
which  was  situated  not  many  miles  from 
the  present  city  of  Syracuse,  was  repulsed, 
owing  to  the  flighty,  undisciplined  fighting 
of  the  assailants,  whom  Champlain  in  vain 
tried  to  steady.  The  lateness  of  the  season 
precluded  his  being  accompanied  to  Quebec, 
and  he  had  to  spend  the  winter  with  the 
Indians.  He  joined  in  their  fall  hunting, 
and  during  four  tedious  months  he  had  an 
unequaled  opportunity  to  study  Indian  life 
as  yet  uncontaminated  by  association  with 
Europeans.  Of  their  villages,  preparation 
of  food,  marriage  customs,  funeral  cere- 
monies, religious  usages,  their  pow-wows 
and  medicine  men,  he  has  given  us  not  only 
one  of  the  earliest,  but  one  of  the  best  de- 
scriptions that  we  have. 

This  expedition  of  1615-16  was  the  last 
work  of  exploration  which  Champlain  ac- 
complished, and  with  it  the  portion  of  the 
xxlli 


INTRODUCTION 

narrative  of  1632,  selected  for  this  edition, 
closes.  The  rest  of  it,  a  little  more  than 
half,  belongs  to  the  history  of  Quebec  and 
of  Canada,  and  not  to  the  story  of  American 
exploration.  It  is  the  record  of  Champlain's 
devotion  to  his  great  design  of  estabhshing 
a  New  France  in  America,  and  of  the  ob- 
stacles arising  from  the  lack  of  real  vital 
interest  in  the  work  in  the  minds  of  the 
ruling  powers  in  France  and  from  the  jeal- 
ousies of  rival  traders  and  companies.  In 
the  years  1628  and  1629,  to  internal  dissen- 
sions the  new  peril  of  outside  hostility  was 
added,  and  the  prospects  of  a  New  France 
were  temporarily  eclipsed  by  the  English  at- 
tack upon  and  capture  of  Quebec.  In  the 
years  immediately  following,  Champlain  la- 
bored in  France  in  the  interest  of  the  col- 
ony. Most  important  among  the  varied  ac- 
tivities in  its  behalf  was  the  preparation 
of  a  revised  narrative  of  his  explorations 
and  of  the  history  of  New  France  down 
to  1629.  This  work  was  the  Voyages  of 
1632. 

Canada  had  now  been  restored  to  France, 
and  in  1633  Champlain  returned  to  Canada 
under  a  new  commission  as  Governor.  But 
little  over  two  years  of  life  remained,  and 
these,  like  the  thirty  of  ceaseless  activity 
that  had  preceded  them,  were  devoted  to 
xxiv 


INTRODUCTION 

restoring  the  colony  from  the  ravages  of 
war.  The  end  came  on  Christmas  Day, 
1635,  after  an  illness  of  nearly  three  months. 

Champlain  left  no  children.  He  did  not 
marry  until  over  forty  years  of  age.  In 
16 10  he  entered  into  a  contract  of  marriage 
with  Helene  Boulle,  then  a  girl  of  twelve, 
who,  by  agreement,  was  to  live  two  years 
more  with  her  parents  before  joining  her 
husband.  She  went  to  Quebec  with  him  in 
1620  and  lived  there  four  years.  After  that 
their  lives  drew  apart  and  Madame  de 
Champlain  lived  by  herself  in  Paris,  and 
later  asked  her  husband  to  allow  her  to 
enter  a  convent  of  Ursuline  nuns.  Cham- 
plain refused,  but  some  years  after  his 
death  she  carried  out  her  wish  and  founded 
an  Ursuline  monastery  in  Meaux. 

In  his  first  two  publications,  Champlain 
is  plain  ''Samuel  Champlain  of  Brouage," 
but  some  time  later  and  before  the  issue  of 
his  narrative  of  161 3  he  was  raised  to  noble 
rank  and  henceforth  became  the  Sieur  de 
Champlain. 

Of  Champlain  no  authentic  portrait  is 
known  to  exist.  Those  hitherto  reproduced 
have  been  shown  by  Victor  Hugo  Paltsits  to 
be  all  derived  from  a  lithograph,  the  work 
of  a  nineteenth  century  artist,  Louis  Cesar 
Joseph  Ducornet,  which  was  given  to  the 

XXV. 


INTRODUCTION 

public  in  1854.*  Yet  although  we  have 
no  physical  likeness  of  the  man,  his  moral 
image  is  ineffaceably  stamped  upon  the 
memory  of  every  student  of  his  writings. 
The  more  familiar  one  becomes  with  these 
narratives,  the  more  solid  and  permanent 
is  the  impression  of  a  singularly  well- 
rounded  character,  full  of  strength,  dignity 
and  sweetness. 

If  we  compare  him  with  the  other  explor- 
ers and  founders  of  that  age  he  stands  above 
them  all  in  the  range  of  his  achievement. 
The  explorations  of  De  Soto  and  Coronado 
surpass  those  of  Champlain  in  the  extent  of 
territory  covered  and  in  magnitude,  but  the 
results  fall  short  of  his  in  accuracy  of  de- 
tail and  in  permanent  positive  contribution 
to  knowledge.  The  figure  of  La  Salle  is 
more  brilliant  on  the  page  of  the  historian, 
but  he  was  inferior  to  Champlain  as  a 
leader,  and,  like  De  Soto  and  Coronado,  he 
ranks  as  an  explorer  only ;  Champlain,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  not  only  an  explorer 
who  ''threw  light  into  the  dark  places  of 
American  geography  and  brought  order  out 
of  chaos  of  American  cartography,"^  he 
was  also  the  historian  of  his  expeditions  and 

*  A  Critical  Examination  of  Champlain  s  Par- 
traits.    Acadiensis,  Vol.  IV  (1904),  pp.  306-312. 
^  Parkman,  Pioneers  of  New  France^  256. 
xxvi 


INTRODUCTION 

of  the  early  days  of  Quebec,  and  in  addition 
to  that  the  most  indefatigable  promoter  of 
French  colonization  and  the  first  French 
writer  to  discuss  the  principles  of  colonial 
policy.  In  France,  he  undertook  the  work 
to  which  Raleigh  and  Hakluyt  in  England 
devoted  themselves  with  such  assiduity.  Of 
the  English  explorers  who  were  also  writ- 
ers, Captain  John  Smith  has  attained  the 
widest  celebrity.  That  his  explorations 
should  rank  with  Champlain's  will  hardly 
be  pretended  by  his  most  enthusiastic  ad- 
mirers. On  the  other  hand,  his  writings  are 
too  full  of  the  air  of  romance,  if  not  of  its 
substance,  for  him  to  be  taken  as  a  serious 
historian  of  his  own  career;  and  his  ser- 
vices as  an  administrator  in  Virginia,  con- 
siderable as  they  were,  extended  over  too 
short  a  time  to  rival  Champlain's  at  Quebec. 
Of  English  founders  and  governors  of  colo- 
nies who  have  also  recorded  the  history  of 
such  beginnings,  William  Bradford  and 
John  Winthrop  unquestionably  stand  first 
in  this  period,  and  a  comparison  of  their 
work  with  that  of  "The  Father  of  New 
France"  suggests  itself.  In  literary  quality 
Bradford's  History  of  Plimouth  Plantation 
surpasses  anything  that  Champlain  wrote, 
and  the  community  over  which  Winthrop 
presided  so  many  years  and  whose  story 
xxvii 


INTRODUCTION 

he  told  v/ith  such  candor  has  played  a  far 
larger  part  in  American  history  and  life 
than  fell  to  the  fortune  of  the  people  of  New 
France,  yet  the  outlook  and  range  of  Cham- 
plain's  achievements  are  far  more  compre- 
hensive than  those  of  either  Bradford  or 
Winthrop.  Neither  of  them  was  an  ex- 
plorer, nor  did  either  become  a  sympathetic 
and  observing  student  of  Indian  life.  Thus, 
in  some  one  or  two  of  the  many  fields  of 
his  activity,  others  have  surpassed  Cham- 
plain,  but  no  other  Frenchman  and  no 
Spaniard  or  Englishman  has  attained  his 
high  level  and  wide  range.  His  fame  is 
steadily  increasing,  and  the  two  races  who 
dwell  in  the  scene  of  his  labors,  however 
antagonistic  in  other  things,  unite  in  a 
friendly  rivalry  in  rendering  homage  to 
his  name. 

Edward  Gaylord  Bourne. 
New  Haven,  June,  1906. 


xxvni 


CONTENTS 

VOLUME   I 

BOOK  I 

Introduction.    Edward  Gaylord  Bourne. ...  v 

Index  of  Chapters xxix 

Dedication  to  Cardinal  Richelieu xxxvii 

INDEX   OF   CHAPTERS 
CHAPTER   I 

PAGE 

Extent  of  New  France  and  the  excellence  of 
its  soil.  Reasons  for  establishing  Colo- 
nies in  the  New  France  of  the  West. 
Rivers,  lakes,  ponds,  woods,  meadows  and 
islands  of  New  France,  Its  fertility.  Its 
peoples I 

CHAPTER    II 

That  Kings  and  great  Princes  ought  to  take 
more  pains  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  God  and  magnify  His  glory  among 
barbarians  than  to  multiply  their  states. 
Voyages  of  the  French  to  the  New  World 
since  the  year  1504 9 

xxix 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  III 

PAGE 

Voyage  to  Florida  under  the  reign  of  King 
Charles  IX  by  Jean  Ribaut.  He  has  a  fort 
built,  called  Fort  Charles,  on  the  River  of 
May,  Albert,  the  Captain,  whom  he  leaves 
there,  has  no  provisions,  and  is  killed  by 
the  soldiers.  They  are  taken  to  England 
by  an  Englishman.  Voyage  of  Captain 
Laudonniere.  Narrowly  escapes  being 
killed  by  his  own  men ;  has  four  of  them 
hanged.  Is  pursued  by  famine.  Recom- 
pense from  the  Emperor  Charles  to  those 
who  discovered  the  Indies.  The  French 
driven  from  the  River  of  May  by  the 
Spaniards.  They  attack  Laudonniere. 
The  French  killed  and  hanged  with  in- 
scriptions       i6 

CHAPTER   IV 

The  King  of  France  feigns  to  take  no  notice 
for  a  time  of  the  injury  that  he  has  re- 
ceived from  the  Spaniards  in  the  cruelty 
that  they  showed  to  the  French.  Ven- 
geance for  it  was  reserved  for  Sieur 
Chevalier  de  Gourgues.  His  voyage;  his 
arrival  on  the  coast  of  Florida.  Is  at- 
tacked by  some  Spaniards  whom  he  de- 
feats and  treats  as  they  did  the  French. .,    25 

CHAPTER   V 

The  voyage  that  Sieur  de  Rober^'al  de- 
spatched. Sends  Alphonse  of  Saintonge 
to  Labrador.  His  departure.  His  arrival. 
Return  on  account  of  the  ice.    The  voy- 

XXX 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

ages  of  foreigners  to  the  North,  to  go  to 
the  West  (?)  Indies.  Voyage  of  the 
Marquis  de  la  Roche  without  result.  His 
death.  Noticeable  defect  in  his  under- 
taking       40 

CHAPTER   VI 

Voyage  of  Sieur  de  Saint  Chauvin.  His  plan. 
Remonstrances  made  with  him  by  Pont 
Grave.  Sieur  de  Monts  goes  with  him. 
Return  of  Saint  Chauvin  and  Du  Pont  to 
France.  Second  voyage  of  Chauvin :  his 
plan  46 

CHAPTER   VII 

Fourth  undertaking  in  New  France  by  the 
Commander  de  Chaste.  Sieur  du  Pont 
Grave  chosen  for  the  voyage  to  Tadous- 
sac.  The  author  undertakes  the  voyage. 
Their  arrival  at  the  Great  Sault  St.  Louis. 
Their  difficulty  in  passing  it.  Their  re- 
treat. Death  of  this  commander,  which 
breaks  up  the  sixth  voyage 51 

CHAPTER   VIII 

Voyage  of  Sieur  de  Monts.  Wishes  to  con- 
tinue the  plan  of  the  late  Commander  de 
Chaste.  Obtains  a  commission  from  the 
king  to  make  discoveries  farther  south. 
Forms  a  company  with  the  merchants  of 
Rouen  and  Rochelle.  The  author  goes 
with  him.  They  reach  Cape  Heve.  They 
discover  several  harbors  and  rivers.   Sieur 

xxxi 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

de  Poutrincourt  goes  with  Sieur  de 
Monts.  Complaints  of  this  Sieur  de 
Monts.    His  commission  revoked 57 


BOOK  II 

CHAPTER   I 

Description  of  La  Heve.  Of  Port  Mouton. 
Of  Cape  Negro.  Of  the  Cape  Sable  and 
Sable  Bay.  Of  Cormorant  Island.  Of 
Cape  Fourchu.  Of  Long  Island.  Of  Bay 
Saint  Mary.  Of  Port  Saint  Margaret, 
and  of  all  the  remarkable  things  that 
there  are  along  the  coast  of  Acadie 66 


CHAPTER   II 

Description  of  Port  Royal,  and  its  peculiari- 
ties. Of  High  Island.  Of  the  Harbor  of 
Mines.  Of  the  Great  French  Bay.  Of 
the  River  Saint  John,  and  what  we  have 
noticed  between  the  Harbor  of  Mines  and 
this  place.  Of  the  island  called  by  the 
savages  Manthane.  Of  the  Etechemins 
River,  and  several  beautiful  islands  in  it. 
Of  Saint  Croix  Island,  and  other  con- 
spicuous things  on  this  shore 73 


CHAPTER    III 

Of  the  coast,  peoples,  and  River  of  Norem- 
begue 83 

xxxii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   IV 

PAGE 

Discovery  of  the  Quinibequy  River,  which  is 
on  the  coast  of  the  Almouchiquois,  as  far 
as  latitude  42°,  and  the  particulars  of  the 
voyage.  How  the  men  and  women  pass 
the  time  during  the  winter 93 


CHAPTER   V 

The  Choiiacoet  River.  Places  that  the  author 
discovered  there.  Cape  of  Islands.  Ca- 
noes of  the  people  made  of  birch  bark. 
How  the  savages  of  that  country  revive 
those  who  faint  away.  Use  stones  in- 
stead of  knives.  Their  chief  honorably 
received  by  us 103 

CHAPTER   VI 

Continuation  of  the  discoveries  along  the 
coast  of  the  Almouchiquois,  and  what  we 
specially  noticed  there II2 

CHAPTER   VII 

Continuation  of  these  explorations  as  far  as 
Port  Fortune,  some  twenty  leagues  from 
there 123 

CHAPTER   VIII 

Discovery  from  Cape  la  Heve  to  Canseau, 
very  much  in  detail 131 

xxxiii 


CONTENTS 

BOOK  III 
CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

Voyages  of  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt  in  New 
France,  where  he  left  his  son,  Sieur  de 
Biencotirt.  The  Jesuit  fathers  who  were 
sent  there,  and  their  progress  in  making 
the  Christian  faith  flourish 137 

CHAPTER    n 

Second  undertaking  of  Sieur  de  Monts.  Ad- 
vice that  the  author  gave  him.  Obtains 
commission  from  the  King.  His  depar- 
ture. Buildings  that  the  author  makes  in 
Quebec.  Outcries  against  Sieur  de 
Monts 161 

CHAPTER   HI 

Departure  of  the  author,  to  go  to  settle  the 
great  River  St.  Lawrence.  Description  of 
the  harbor  of  Tadoussac ;  of  the  River 
Saguenay;  of  the  Isle  of  Orleans 166 

CHAPTER    IV 

Discovery  of  the  Hare  Island ;  of  the  Island 
of  Coudres,  and  of  the  Falls  of  Mont- 
morency    171 

CHAPTER   V 

Arrival  of  the  author  at  Quebec,  where  he 
made  his  place  of  abode.  Habits  of  the 
savages  of  that  country 174 

xxxiv 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER   VI 

PAGE 

Planting  of  vines   at   Quebec  by  the  author. 

His  kindness  to  the  poor  savages i8o 

CHAPTER   VH 

Journey  from  Quebec  to  the  Island  of  St. 
Eloi,  and  the  meeting  that  I  had  with 
some  Algonquin  and  Ochataiguin  sav- 
ages       l86 

CHAPTER   VIII 

Return  to  Quebec,  and  then  continuation  with 
the  savages  to  the  Rapids  of  the  River  of 
the  Iroquois 191 

CHAPTER    IX 

Departure  from  the  rapids  of  the  Iroquois 
River.  Description  of  a  large  lake.  Of 
the  encounter  with  the  enemy  that  we  had 
at  this  lake,  and  of  the  manner  in  which 
they  attacked  the  Iroquois 198 

CHAPTER   X 

Return  from  the  battle,  and  what  happened  on 

the  way 214 

CHAPTER   XI 

Defeat  of  the  Iroquois  near  the  mouth  of  this 

River  Iroquois ,  219 

CHAPTER   XII 

Description  of  whaling  in  New  France 230 

XXXV 


CONTENTS 
CHAPTER  XIII 

PAGE 

Departure  of  the  author  from  Quebec.  Mont 
Royal  and  its  cliffs.  Islands  where  pot- 
ter's clay  is  found.    Island  of  Ste.  Helene.  233 

CHAPTER   XIV 

Two  hundred  savages  return  the  Frenchman 
who  had  been  entrusted  to  them,  and  take 
back  the  savage  who  had  returned  from 
France.    Various  remarks  by  the  author..  242 


XXXVl 


To 

Monseigneiir,  the  most  illustrious  Cardinal, 
Duke  de  Richelieu,  Head,  Grand  Master 
and  Superintendent-General  of  the  Com- 
merce and  Navigation  of  France. 

MONSEIGNEUR  ! 

These  narratives  are  offered  to  you  as 
the  one  to  whom  they  are  chiefly  due,  not 
only  because  of  your  eminent  power  in  the 
Church  and  in  the  State,  as  well  as  in  the 
command  of  all  navigation,  but  also  that 
you  may  be  promptly  informed  of  the  great- 
ness, the  fertility,  and  the  beauty  of  the 
places  that  they  describe.  For  it  may  be  as- 
sumed that  it  was  not  without  great  and 
vital  reasons  that  the  Kings  who  were 
predecessors  of  His  Majesty,  and  he  also, 
not  only  raised  the  standard  of  the  Cross 
in  that  land,  in  order  to  establish  the  faith 
there,  as  they  did,  but  also  wished  to  attach 
to  it  the  name  of  New  France.  You  will 
find  here  the  great  and  dangerous  voyages 
that  have  been  undertaken  thither ;  the  dis- 
coveries that  followed  upon  them;  the  ex- 
tent of  these  lands,  no  less  than  four  times. 

xxxvii 


DEDICATION 

as  large  as  France ;  their  situation ;  the  fa- 
ciHty  with  which  a  safe  and  important  com- 
merce can  be  carried  on  there ;  the  great 
profit  to  be  derived  from  it;  the  fact  that 
our  Kings  have  taken  possession  of  a  large 
part  of  the  country;  the  missions  that  they 
have  instituted  there  of  various  religious 
orders ;  their  progress  in  the  conversion  of 
a  good  many  savages;  [the  account  of]  the 
clearing  of  certain  tracts  of  land,  by  which 
you  will  discover  that  they  in  no  way  fall 
short  of  the  soil  of  France  in  fertility ;  and, 
finally,  the  settlements  and  forts  which  have 
been  built  there  in  the  name  of  France.  The 
fact  that  I  have  been  assiduously  engaged 
in  the  preservation  of  these  beginnings,  as 
well  as  in  a  large  number  of  these  discover- 
ies, for  the  last  thirty  years,  both  by  the  au- 
thority of  our  viceroys,  and  by  that  of  your 
Grace,  will  be  my  excuse,  Monseigneur,  if 
you  please,  for  the  liberty  that  I  take  in  of- 
fering you  this  little  treatise,  feeling  confi- 
dent that  it  will  not  be  disagreeable  to  you ; 
not  out  of  consideration  for  myself,  but 
only  out  of  consideration  for  tlie  public, 
who  already  make  your  name  resound  on 
the  shores  of  every  sea  throughout  the  habi- 
table earth,  with  their  acclamations  of  the 
results  of  which  the  continuation  of  your 
glorious    deeds   gives   promise.   And   since 

xxxviii 


DEDICATION 

your  Grace  has  raised  them  to  the  utmost 
height  on  land,  by  the  peace  that  you  have 
estabHshed  in  this  Kingdom  after  so  many 
and  such  fortunate  victories,  you  will  not  be 
less  inclined  to  call  forth  admiration  during 
the  peace  in  the  matters  that  concern  it: 
above  all.  In  the  re-establishment  of  the 
commerce  of  France  in  the  most  remote 
countries,  as  the  most  assured  way  that  she 
has  of  reviving  It  under  your  favorable  aus- 
pices. But  among  these  foreign  peoples 
those  of  New  France  are  foremost  in  ex- 
tending their  hands  to  you ;  believing,  with 
all  France,  that,  since  God,  on  the  one  hand, 
has  constituted  you  a  Prince  of  the  Church, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  has  raised 
you  to  the  pre-eminent  dignities  that  you 
hold,  you  will  not  only  bestow  upon  them 
the  light  of  the  faith  which  they  long  for 
continually,  but  will  also  assist  and  support 
the  possession  of  this  new  land,  by  the  set- 
tlements and  colonies  that  will  be  found 
necessary  there ;  and  that,  in  fine,  since  God 
has  expressly  chosen  you  among  all  men 
for  the  perfection  of  this  great  work,  it  will 
be  entirely  accomplished  by  your  hands. 
This  Is  my  constant  wish,  and  I  add  to  It 
the  ofifer  of  my  rem.aining  years,  which  I 
shall  regard  as  very  happily  and  usefully 
employed  in  so  glorious  a  design  if,  in  addi- 

xxxix 


DEDICATION 

tion  to  all  my  past  labors,  I  may  still  be 
honored  by  the  commands  that  I  await  from 
your  Grace, 

MONSEIGNEUR  ! 

Your  very  humble  and  very  affectionate 
servant,  Champlain. 


The  Voyages  of 
Sieur  de  Champlain 

VOLUME   I— BOOK   I 

CHAPTER   I 

Extent  of  New  France  and  the  excellence  of  Us 
soil.  Reasons  for  establishing  Colonies  in  the 
New  France  of  the  West.  Rivers,  lakes,  ponds, 
woods,  meadows  and  islands  of  New  France.  Its 
fertility.    Its  peoples. 

The  labors  that  Sieur  de  Champlain  has 
endured  in  discovering  several  countries, 
lakes,  rivers,  and  islands  of  New  France, 
during  the  last  twenty-seven  years,^  have 
not  made  him  lose  courage  because  of  the 
difficulties  that  have  been  encountered ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  the  dangers  and  risks  that 
he  has  met  with,  instead  of  lessening,  have 
redoubled  his  courage.  And  two  very  strong 
reasons  in  particular  have  decided  him  to 
make  new  voyages  there.  The  first  is  that 
under  the  reign  of  King  Louis  the  Just,^ 
France   should   become    enriched  and   in- 

^I.  e.,  from  1603  to  1630. 
'Louis  XIII. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

treased  by  a  country  of  which  the  extent 
exceeds  sixteen  hundred  leagues  in  length 
ind  nearly  five  hundred  in  breadth ;  the 
second,  that  the  richness  of  the  soil  and  the 
useful  things  that  can  be  derived  from  it, 
whether  for  commerce  or  to  make  life  pleas- 
ant in  that  country,  are  such  that  one  can- 
not estim.ate  the  advantage  that  the  French 
would  gain  from  it  some  day,  if  the  French 
colonies  that  may  be  established  there 
should  be  protected  by  the  favor  and  au- 
thority of  His  Majesty. 

The  new  discoveries  led  to  the  purpose 
of  establishing  colonies,  which,  though  at 
first  of  little  account,  have  nevertheless  in 
course  of  time,  by  means  of  commerce,  be- 
come equal  to  the  states  of  the  greatest 
kings.  One  may  put  in  this  class  several 
cities  that  the  Spaniards  have  founded  in 
Peru  and  other  parts  of  the  world  within 
the  last  hundred  and  twenty  years,  which 
were  nothing  to  begin  with.  Europe  can 
offer  the  example  of  the  city  of  Venice, 
Vv^hich  was  originally  a  refuge  for  poor  fish- 
ermen. Genoa,  one  of  the  most  superb  cit- 
ies of  the  world,  was  built  in  a  region  sur- 
rounded by  mountains,  very  wild,  and  so 
sterile  that  the  inhabitants  were  obliged  to 
have  soil  brought  from  outside  to  cultivate 
their  garden  plots,  and  their  sea  is  without 

2 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

fish.  The  city  of  Marseilles,  which  formerly 
was  nothing  but  a  great  marsh,  surrounded 
by  rugged  hills  and  mountains,  nevertheless 
in  the  course  of  time  made  its  land  fertile, 
and  has  become  famous  and  an  important 
seat  of  commerce.  Similarly,  many  small 
colonies  which  had  the  convenience  of  ports 
and  harbors  have  increased  in  wealth  and  in 
reputation. 

It  must  be  said  also  that  the  country  of 
New  France  is  a  new  world,  and  not  a  king- 
dom; perfectly  beautiful,  with  very  con- 
venient locations,  both  on  the  banks  of  the 
great  river  St.  Lawrence  (the  ornament  of 
the  country)  and  on  other  rivers,  lakes, 
ponds  and  brooks.  It  has,  too,  an  infinite 
number  of  beautiful  islands,  and  they  con- 
tain very  pleasant  and  delightful  meadows 
and  groves  where,  during  the  spring  and 
the  summer,  may  be  seen  a  great  number  of 
birds  which  come  there  in  their  time  and 
season.  The  soil  is  very  fertile  for  all  kinds 
of  grain;  the  pasturage  is  abundant;  and 
a  network  of  great  rivers  and  lakes,  which 
are  like  seas  lying  across  the  countries,  lend 
great  facility  to  all  the  explorations  of  the 
interior,  whence  one  could  get  access  to  the 
oceans  on  the  west,  the  east,  the  ncM*th,  and 
even  on  the  south. 

The  country  is  filled  with  immense  tall 
3 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

forests  composed  of  the  same  kinds  of  trees 
that  we  have  in  France.  The  air  is  salubri- 
ous and  the  water  excellent  in  the  latitudes 
corresponding  to  ours.  The  benefit  that  caa 
be  derived  from  this  country,  according  to 
what  Sieur  de  Champlain  hopes  to  demon- 
strate, is  sufficient  to  make  the  enterprise 
worth  considering,  since  this  country  can 
supply  for  the  service  of  the  King  the  same 
advantages  that  we  have  in  France,  as  will 
appear  from  the  following  account. 

In  New  France  there  are  a  great  many 
savage  peoples;  some  of  whom  are  seden- 
tary, fond  of  cultivating  the  soil,  and  hav-^ 
ing  cities  and  villages  enclosed  with  pali- 
sades; others  are  roving  tribes  which  live 
by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  God.  But  there  is  hope  that  the 
clergy  who  have  been  sent  there  and  who 
are  beginning  to  establish  themselves  and  to 
found  seminaries  will  be  able  in  a  few  years 
to  make  great  progress  in  the  conversion  of 
these  peoples.  This  is  the  first  care  of  His 
Majesty,  who,  turning  his  eyes  toward 
Heaven  rather  than  toward  the  earth,  will 
support,  if  it  is  his  good  pleasure,  such 
founders  as  engage  to  transport  clergy  to 
work  at  this  sacred  harvest,  and  propose  to 
establish  a  Colony  as  being  the  only  way  of 
making  the  name  of  the  true  God  recog- 

4 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

nized,  and  of  establishing  the  Christian  re- 
ligion there :  such  founders,  too,  as  would 
oblige  the  French  who  go  there  to  work, 
first  of  all,  at  tilling  the  soil,  in  order  to 
have  the  necessaries  of  life  on  the  spot, 
without  being  forced  to  bring  them  from 
France.  That  done,  the  country  will  fur- 
nish in  abundance  all  that  can  be  wished  in 
life,  whether  to  satisfy  needs  or  pleasures, 
as  will  be  shown  hereafter. 

If  one  cares  for  hawking,  one  can  find  in 
these  places  all  sorts  of  birds  of  prey  in  as 
great  numbers  as  one  could  wish :  falcons, 
gerfalcons,  sakers,  tassels,  sparhawks,  gos- 
hawks, marlins,  muskets,  two  kinds  of  ea- 
gles, little  and  big  owls,  great  horned  owls 
of  exceptional  size,  pyes,  woodpeckers.  And 
there  are  other  kinds  of  birds  of  prey,  less 
common  than  those  named,  with  grey  plu- 
mage on  the  back  and  white  on  the  belly,  as 
fat  and  large  as  a  hen,  with  one  foot  like 
the  talon  of  a  bird  of  prey,  with  which  it 
catches  fish;  the  other  like  that  of  a  duck. 
The  latter  serves  for  swimming  in  the  wa- 
ter when  he  dives  for  fish.  This  bird  is  not 
supposed  to  be  found  except  in  New 
France.^ 

•The  belief  that  this  bird,  which  was  probably 
the  bald  buzzard  or  sea  eagle,  has  one  foot  webbed 
is  a  bit  of  folk-lore. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

For  hunting  with  setters,  there  are  three 
kinds  of  partridges :  some  are  true  pheas- 
ants, others  are  black,  and  still  others  white. 
These  last  come  in  winter  and  have  flesh 
like  wood-pigeons,  of  a  very  excellent 
flavor. 

As  for  hunting  for  other  game,  river 
birds  abound  there;  all  sorts  of  ducks,  teal, 
white  and  grey  geese,  bustards,"*  little 
geese,  woodcock,  snipe,  little  and  big  larks, 
plover,  herons,  cranes,  swans,  divers  of  two 
or  three  kinds,  coots,  ospreys,  curlews, 
thrushes,  white  and  grey  sea  gulls ;  and  on 
the  coasts  and  shores  of  the  sea,  cormorants, 
sea  parrots,  sea  pyes,  and  others  in  infinite 
numbers  which  come  there  in  their  season. 

In  the  woods  and  in  the  country  which 
is  inhabited  by  the  Iroquois,  a  people  of 
New  France,  there  are  many  wild  turkeys, 
and  at  Quebec  a  quantity  of  turtle-doves 
throughout  the  summer;  also  blackbirds, 
linnets,  sky  larks,  and  other  kinds  of  birds 
of  varied  plumage,  which  in  their  season 
sing  very  sweetly. 

After  this  kind  of  hunting  may  be  men- 
tioned another  not  less  pleasant  and  agree- 
able, but  m.ore  difficult.    There  are  in  this 

*The  brant  goose  was  called  outarde  (bustard) 
by  the  early  French  explorers.  On  these  birds  of. 
J.  P.  Baxter,  Jacques  C artier,  158,  n. 

6 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

same  country,  foxes,  common  wolves  and 
spotted  lynxes,  wild  cats,  porcupines,  beav- 
ers, muskrats,  otters,  sables,  martens,  va- 
rieties of  badgers,  hares,  bears,  moose, 
stags,  deer,  caribous  as  big  as  wild  asses, 
kids,  flying  squirrels,  and  other  kinds  of 
animals  which  we  do  not  have  in  France. 
They  can  be  caught  either  by  lying  in  wait 
or  with  a  trap,  or,  if  one  suddenly  shouts 
on  the  islands  where  they  resort  most  often, 
one  can  kill  them  easily  as  they  throw  them- 
selves in  the  water  when  they  hear  the 
noise ;  or  they  can  be  caught  in  any  other 
way  that  the  ingenuity  of  those  who  take 
pleasure  in  it  may  suggest. 

If  one  is  fond  of  fishing,  whether  with 
the  line,  nets,  warrens,  weels  or  other  in- 
ventions, there  are  rivers,  brooks,  lakes  and 
ponds  in  as  great  number  as  one  could  de- 
sire, with  an  abundance  of  salmon ;  very 
beautiful  trout,  fine  and  large,  of  every 
kind ;  sturgeon  of  three  sizes ;  shad ;  very 
good  bass,  some  of  which  weigh  twenty 
pounds.  There  are  carp  of  all  kinds  and 
some  of  them  are  very  large ;  and  pike, 
some  of  them  five  feet  long ;  turbot  without 
scales,  two  or  three  kinds,  big  and  little ; 
white  fish  a  foot  long;  gold  fish,  smelts, 
tench,  perch,  tortoises,  seal,  of  which  the 
oil  is  very  good  even  for  frying ;  white  por- 

7 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

poises,  and  many  others  that  we  do  not 
have  and  that  are  not  found  in  our  rivers 
and  ponds.  All  these  varieties  of  fish  are 
found  in  the  great  river  St.  Lawrence ;  be- 
sides, cod  and  whales  are  caught  on  the 
coasts  of  New  France  in  nearly  all  seasons. 
Thus  one  can  judge  of  the  pleasure  that 
the  French  will  have  when  once  they  are 
settled  in  these  places ;  living  a  sweet,  quiet 
life,  with  perfect  freedom  to  hunt,  fish,  and 
make  homes  for  themselves  according  to 
their  desires ;  with  occupation  for  the  mind 
in  building,  clearing  the  ground,  working 
gardens,  planting  them,  grafting,  making 
nurseries,  planting  all  kinds  of  grains,  roots, 
vegetables,  salad  greens  and  other  pot- 
herbs, over  as  much  land  and  in  as  great 
quantity  as  they  wish.  The  vines  there  bear 
pretty  good  grapes,  even  though  they  are 
wild.  If  these  are  transplanted  and  culti- 
vated they  will  yield  fruit  in  abundance. 
And  he  who  will  have  thirty  acres  of 
cleared  land  in  that  country,  with  the  help 
of  a  few  cattle,  and  of  hunting  and  fishing, 
and  trading  with  the  savages  in  conformity 
to  the  regulations  of  the  company  of  New 
France,  will  be  able  to  live  there  with  a 
family  of  ten  as  well  as  those  in  France 
who  have  an  income  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
thousand  livres. 

8 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 


CHAPTER   II 

That  Kings  and  great  Princes  ought  to  take 
more  pains  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
God  and  magnify  His  glory  among  barbarians 
than  to  multiply  their  states.  Voyages  of  the 
French  to  the  New  World  since  the  year  1504. 

The  most  illustrious  palms  and  laurels 
that  kings  and  princes  can  win  in  this 
world  are  contempt  for  temporal  blessings 
and  the  desire  to  gain  the  spiritual.  They 
cannot  do  this  more  profitably  than  by  con- 
verting, through  their  labor  and  piety,  to 
the  catholic,  apostolic  and  Roman  religion, 
an  infinite  number  of  savages,  who  live 
without  faith,  without  law,  with  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  God.  For  the  taking  of 
forts,  the  winning  of  battles,  and  the  con- 
quests of  countries,  are  nothing  in  compari- 
son with  the  reward  of  those  who  prepare 
for  themselves  crowns  in  heaven,  unless  it 
be  fighting  against  infidels.  In  that  case, 
war  is  not  only  necessary,  but  just  and  holy, 
since  the  safety  of  Christianity,  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  defence  of  the  faith  are  at 
stake.    These    labors   are,   in   themselves, 

9 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

praiseworthy  and  very  commendable,  be- 
sides being  in  conformity  to  the  command- 
ment of  God,  which  says,  That  the  conver- 
sion  of  an  infidel  is  of  more  value  than  the 
conquest  of  a  kingdom.'^  And  if  all  this 
cannot  move  us  to  seek  after  heavenly  bless- 
ings at  least  as  passionately  as  after  those 
of  the  earth,  it  is  because  men's  covetous- 
ness  for  this  world's  blessings  is  so  great 
that  most  of  them  do  not  care  for  the  con- 
version of  infidels  so  long  as  their  fortune 
corresponds  to  their  desires,  and  everything 
conforms  to  their  wishes.  Moreover,  it  is 
this  covetousness  that  has  ruined  and  is 
wholly  ruining  the  progress  and  advance- 
ment of  this  enterprise,  which  is  not  yet 
well  under  way,  and  is  in  danger  of  col- 
lapsing, unless  His  Majesty  establishes 
there  conditions  as  righteous,  charitable  and 
just  as  he  is  himself;  and  unless  he  him- 
self takes  pleasure  in  learning  what  can  be 
done  to  increase  the  glory  of  God  and  to 
benefit  his  state,  repelling  the  envy  of  those 
w^ho  should  support  this  enterprise,  but  who 
seek  its  ruin  rather  than  its  success. 

It  is  nothing  new  for  the  French  to  make 

^Possibly  a  confused  and  vague  recollection  of 
"For  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul?"  Mark 
viii,  36. 

10 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

sea  voyages  for  conquest.  We  know  very 
well  that  the  discovery  of  new  countries  and 
noble  enterprises  on  the  sea  were  begun  b}'' 
our  forefathers. 

It  was  the  Bretons  and  Normans  who,  in 
the  year  1504,  were  the  first  Christians  to 
discover  the  grand  bank  of  the  Codfish^ 
and  the  islands  of  the  New  World,  as  is 
noted  in  the  histories  of  Niflet  and  of  An- 
toine  Maginus.^ 

It  is  also  very  certain  that  in  the  time 
of  King  Francis  I,  in  the  year  1523,  he 
sent  Verazzano,  a  Florentine,  to  discover 
the  lands,  coasts  and  harbors  of  Florida,  as 
the  accounts  of  his  voyages  bear  testimony ; 
where,  after  having  explored  the  coast  from 
latitude  ;^^°  to  latitude  47°,  just  as  he  was 
thinking  of  making  a  home  there,  death  put 
an  end  to  his  life  and  his  plans.* 

After  that,  the  same  King  Francis,  per- 
suaded by  Messire  Philip  Chabot,  Admiral 
of  France,  sent  Jacques  Cartier  to  discover 

'The  words  of  the  original  are  "le  grand  Banc 
des  Moluques."  The  last  word  should  be 
"Morues." 

^The  reference  is  to  Wytfliet's  Descriptionis 
Ptolemaicce  AugmenUim,  as  translated  into  French 
by  Antoine  Magin.  Douay,  161 1.  See  Parkman. 
Pioneers  of  New  France,  190. 

*0n  Verazzano.  See  Bourne,  Spain  in  Amer- 
ica, 143-145. 

H 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

new  lands,  and  for  this  purpose  he  made 
two  voyages  in  the  years  1534  and  1535.  In 
the  first  he  discovered  the  Island  of  New- 
foundland and  the  Gulf  of  Saint  Lawrence, 
with  several  other  islands  in  this  gulf,  and 
he  would  have  gone  farther  had  not  the  se- 
vere season  hastened  his  return.  This 
Jacques  Cartier  was  from  the  city  of  St. 
]\Ialo.  He  was  thoroughly  versed  and  ex- 
perienced in  seamanship ;  the  equal  of  any 
one  of  his  times.  And  St.  Malo  is  under 
obligation  to  preserve  his  memory,  for  it 
was  his  greatest  desire  to  discover  new 
lands.  At  the  request  of  Charles  de  Mouy, 
Sieur  de  la  Mailleres/  at  that  time  Vice- 
Admiral,  he  undertook  the  same  voyage  for 
the  second  time ;  and  in  order  to  compass 
his  purpose  and  to  have  His  Majesty  lay 
the  foundation  of  a  colony  to  increase  the 
honor  of  God  and  his  royal  authority,  he^* 
gave  his  commissions  with  that  of  the  afore- 
said Sieur  Admiral,  who  had  the  direction 
of  this  embarkation  and  contributed  all  he 
could  to  it.  When  the  commissions  had  been 
prepared,  His  Majesty  put  this  same  Car- 
tier  in  charge,  and  he  set  sail  with  two  ves- 
sels on  May  16,  1535.  His  voyage  was  so 
successful  that  he  arrived  at  the  Gulf  of 

^Meilleraye.    L. 
''^I.  e.,  the  Vice-Admiral. 
12 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

Saint  Lawrence,  entered  the  river  with  his 
ships  of  800  tons  burden,^  and  even  got  as 
far  as  an  island  a  hundred  and  twenty- 
leagues  up  the  river,  which  he  called  the  Isle 
of  Orleans.  From  there  he  went  some  ten 
leagues  farther  up  the  same  stream  to 
winter  on  a  small  river  which  is  almost 
dry  at  low  tide.  This  he  named  St.  Croix, 
because  he  arrived  there  on  the  day  of  the 
Exaltation  of  the  Holy  Cross.''  The  place 
is  now  called  the  St.  Charles  River  and  at 
present  the  Recollect  fathers  and  the  Jesuit 
fathers  are  stationed  there  to  found  a  semi- 
nary for  the  instruction  of  youth. 

From  there  Cartier  went  up  the  river 
some  sixty  leagues,  as  far  as  a  place  which 
was  called  Ochelaga  in  his  time  and  is  now 
called  Grand  Sault  St.  Louis.^  It  was  in- 
habited by  savages  who  were  sedentary  and 
cultivated  the  soil.  This  they  no  longer  do, 
because  of  the  wars  that  have  made  them 
withdraw  into  the  interior. 

When  Cartier,  according  to  his  account, 
perceived  the  difficulty  of  passing  up  the 

'A  copyist's  or  printer's  error.  The  narrative  of 
Cartier's  second  voyage  gives  the  tonnage  of  his 
three  vessels  as  100-120,  60  and  40,  respectively. 
-(L.) 

'September  14. 

^The  modern  Lachine  Rapids. 

13 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

rapids  and  that  it  was  impossible,  he  re- 
turned where  his  vessels  were;  and  the 
weather  and  the  season  were  so  urgent  that 
he  was  obliged  to  winter  on  the  St.  Croix 
River,  in  the  place  where  the  Jesuits  live 
now,  on  the  border  of  another  little  river 
which  empties  into  the  St.  Croix,  called  the 
Jacques  Cartier  River,  as  his  narratives  tes- 
tify. 

Cartier  was  made  so  unhappy  in  this  voy- 
age, particularly  by  the  ravages  of  scurvy^ 
of  which  the  larger  part  of  his  men  died^ 
that  when  spring  came  he  returned  to 
France,  saddened  and  disturbed  enough  at 
this  loss  and  at  the  little  progress  that  he 
thought  he  had  made.  He  came  to  the  con- 
clusion, as  a  result  of  his  winter's  experi- 
ence with  the  scurvy,  which  he  called  the 
disease  of  the  country,  that  the  climate  was 
so  different  from  our  own  that  we  could 
not  live  in  it  without  great  difficulty. 

So  when  he  had  made  his  report  to  the 
King  and  to  the  Sieur  Admiral  and  De  Mail- 
leres,^*  who  did  not  go  deeply  into  the  mat- 
ter, the  enterprise  bore  no  fruit.  But  if  Car- 
tier  could  have  understood  the  cause  of  his 
sickness,  and  the  beneficial  and  certain  rem- 
edy for  its  prevention,  although  he  and  his 
men  did  receive  some  relief  from  an  herb 
**L  e.,  De  Meilleraye,  the  Vice- Admiral. 
14 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

called  aneda,^  just  as  we  did  when  we  were 
in  the  same  plight,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  King  from  that  time  would  not  have 
neglected  to  forward  the  plan,  as  he  had 
already  done :  for  at  that  time  the  country 
was  more  peopled  with  sedentary  tribes 
than  now.  It  was  this  last  fact  that  led  His 
Majesty  to  have  this  second  voyage  made 
and  the  undertaking  carried  on,  for  he  had 
a  holy  desire  to  send  colonists  there.  This 
was  what  came  of  it. 

This  affair  might  well  have  been  under- 
taken by  some  others  than  Cartier,  who 
would  not  have  been  so  soon  daunted  and 
would  not,  on  that  account,  have  abandoned 
an  enterprise  so  well  begun.  For,  to  tell  the 
truth,  those  who  are  the  leaders  of  explora- 
tions are  oftentimes  those  who  can  put  an 
end  to  the  execution  of  a  praiseworthy 
project,  if  people  stop  to  consider  their  re- 
ports. For,  if  they  are  believed,  it  is  thought 
that  the  enterprise  is  impossible  or  so  in- 
volved in  difficulties  that  it  cannot  be 
iDrought  to  completion  without  almost  un- 
endurable outlay  and  trouble.  This  is  the 
reason  why  this  enterprise  did  not  achieve 
success.  Besides,  there  are  sometimes  af- 
fairs of  so  much  importance  in  a  state  as  to 

"Apparently  a  spruce  or  arbor  vitse,     Parkman, 
Pioneers  of  France,  214. 

15 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

cause  others  to  be  neglected  for  awhile ;  or 
it  may  be  that  those  who  would  gladly  have 
gone  on  with  them,  die,  and  so  the  years 
pass  with  nothing  done. 


CHAPTER   III 

Voyage  to  Florida  under  the  reign  of  King 
Charles  IX  by  Jean  Ribaut.  He  has  a  fort  built, 
called  Fort  Charles,  on  the  River  of  May.  Albert, 
the  Captain,  whom  he  leaves  there,  has  no  pro- 
visions, and  is  killed  by  the  soldiers.  They  are 
taken  to  England  by  an  Englishman.  Voyage  of 
Captain  Laudonniere.  Narrowly  escapes  being 
killed  by  his  own  men :  has  four  of  them  hanged. 
Is  pursued  by  famine.  Recompense  from  the  Em- 
peror Charles  to  those  who  discovered  the  Indies. 
The  French  driven  from  the  River  of  May  by  the 
Spaniards.  They  attack  Laudonniere.  The  French 
killed  and  hanged  with  inscriptions. 

Under  the  reign  of  Charles  IX  and  the 
leadership  of  Admiral  de  Chastillon,^  Jean 
Ribaut  set  sail  on  February  i8,  1562,  with 
two  ships  equipped  with  all  that  he  needed 
to  found  a  colony.  Passing  by  the  islands 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  he  sailed  close  to  the 
coast  of  Florida,  where  he  explored  a  river 
which  he  called  the  River  of  May.^   There 

^Admiral  Coligny,  who  was  Lord  of  Chatillon. 
*The  St.  John's. 

16 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

he  built  a  fort,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  Charles,  leaving  in  command  of  it  Cap- 
tain Albert,  whom  he  supplied  with  all  that 
he  thought  necessary.  This  done,  he  re- 
turned to  France  on  July  20.  He  was  nearly 
six  months  on  the  voyage. 

But  Captain  Albert  did  not  take  the  trou- 
ble to  have  land  cleared  and  planted,  so  as 
to  prevent  want,  and  they  ate  their  provi- 
sions without  the  system  that  is  necessary 
in  such  matters,  with  the  result  that  they 
found  themselves  so  short  that  the  scarcity 
was  extreme.  Thereupon,  as  the  soldiers 
and  others  in  subjection  to  him  did  not  wish 
to  obey  him,  he  had  one  of  them  hanged 
for  a  very  small  matter.  This  brought  about, 
within  a  few  days,  a  mutiny  so  violent  and 
disobedience  so  great,  that  they  killed  their 
captain  and  made  another  man,  Nicolas 
Barre,  their  leader.  When  they  saw  that  no 
help  was  coming  from  France,  they  built  a 
little  boat  to  return  there,  and  set  sail  with 
very  few  provisions.  History  tells  us  that 
their  hunger  was  so  cruel  that  they  ate  one 
of  their  companions.  But  God  pitied  this 
miserable  crew  and  had  mercy  upon  them, 
and  they  were  picked  up  by  an  Englishman 
who  came  to  their  aid  and  took  them  to 
England,  where  they  revived.  This  shows 
how  little  pains  was  taken  to  bring  relief 

17 


'^'  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

to  the  colonists,  on  account  of  the  war  that 
was  going  on  between  France  and  Spain. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  very  cruel  to  let  men 
die  of  hunger  and  be  reduced  to  the  point 
of  eating  one  another,  to  save  risking  a 
small  vessel  at  sea,  which  could  bring  them 
relief.  This  delayed  the  founding  of  a  col- 
ony and  foreboded  a  worse  end,  since  the 
beginning  had  been  badly  conducted  in 
every  respect. 

Peace  was  made  between  France  and 
Spain,  which  gave  leisure  to  enter  upon 
new  plans  and  expeditions.  The  samxe 
Sieur  Admiral  de  Chastillon  had  other  ves- 
sels equipped,  under  the  charge  of  Captain 
Laudonniere,  who  was  supplied  with  every- 
thing for  his  emigrants.  He  left  on  April 
22,  1564,  and  reached  the  coast  of  Florida 
in  latitude  32°,  at  the  River  of  May.  There 
he  landed  all  his  comipanions  and  supplies 
and  had  a  fort  built,  which  he  called  Caro- 
line. 

While  the  ships  were  at  this  place,  con- 
spiracies were  formed  against  Laudonniere, 
which  were  discovered.  When  everything 
was  straightened  out,  Laudonniere  decided 
to  send  back  his  ships  to  France,  and  he  let 
Captain  Bourdet  command  them.  He  set 
out  on  the  voyage,  leaving  Laudonniere 
with  his  companions,  some  of  whom  were 

18 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

so  rebellious  that  they  threatened  to  kill 
their  captain  if  he  did  not  let  them  cruise 
for  plunder  in  the  direction  of  the  Islands 
of  the  Virgins  and  Santo  Domingo ;  and  he 
had  to  give  his  permission  and  let  them  go. 
They  got  into  a  small  vessel,  made  prey  of 
some  Spanish  ships,  and,  after  they  had 
sailed  all  about  all  these  islands,  they  were 
obliged  to  return  to  Fort  Caroline.  Upon 
their  arrival,  Laudonniere  had  four  of  the 
principal  mutineers  seized  and  put  to  death. 

After  these  misfortunes,  as  the  provisions 
v^ere  coming  to  an  end,  they  suffered  much 
until  May,  without  any  help  from  France. 
And  when  they  had  been  obliged,  for  six 
weeks,  to  go  in  search  of  roots  in  the 
woods,  they  at  last  resolved  to  build  a  boat 
and  have  it  ready  by  the  month  of  August 
to  return  to  France. 

The  famine,  however,  increased  more  and 
more,  and  these  men  became  so  weak  and 
debilitated  that  they  were  scarcely  able  to 
complete  their  work.  This  led  them  to  look 
for  provisions  among  the  savages,  who 
treated  them  badly,  charged  them  much 
more  for  their  provisions  than  they  were 
worth,  laughing  at  and  making  fun  of  the 
Frenchmen,  who  endured  these  jeers  grudg- 
ingly. Laudonniere  pacified  them  as  gently 
as  he  could,  but,  do  what  he  would,  it  was 

19 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

necessary  to  fight  the  savages,  in  order  to 
get  something  to  Hve  on.  They  were  so  suc- 
cessful that  they  got  some  Indian  corn, 
which  gave  them  courage  to  finish  their 
ship.  That  done,  they  began  to  pull  down 
and  demolish  the  fort,  so  as  to  return  to 
France.  While  they  were  engaged  in  this 
they  descried  four  sail.  At  first  they  feared 
that  they  were  Spanish,  but  at  last  recog- 
nized them  as  English,  and  they,  when  they 
saw  that  the  Frenchmen  were  in  need,  aided 
them  with  supplies  and  even  fitted  up  their 
vessel.  This  remarkable  courtesy  was  of- 
fered by  the  leader  of  this  expedition,  whose 
name  was  Jean  Hanubins^  [Hawkins]. 
When  he  had  assisted  them  to  the  best  of 
his  ability,  he  weighed  anchor  and  set  sail 
to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  his  voyage. 

As  Laudonniere  was  about  to  set  sail 
with  his  companions,  he  sighted  some  ves- 
sels out  at  sea,  and,  while  he  was  in  sus- 
pense as  to  who  they  were,  it  was  dis- 
covered that  it  was  Captain  Ribaut,  who 
had  come  to  bring  aid  to  Laudonniere.  The 
rejoicing  on  both  sides  was  great,  for  now 
they  saw  the  revival  of  their  hope  that  be- 
fore had  seemed  absolutely  lost.     But  they 

'That  Hawkins  appears  in  the  text  disguised  as 
Hanubins  is  one  of  the  many  indications  that 
Champlain  did  not  see  the  proofs  of  his  book. 

20 


SAMUEL    DE    CHAMPLAIN 

were  very  sorry  that  the  fort  had  been 
pulled  down.  Ribaut  told  Laudonniere  that 
several  bad  reports  had  been  made  concern- 
ing him,  which  he  recognized  to  be  false^ 
and  that,  if  they  had  been  true,  he  should 
have  had  reason  to  do  what  he  had  been 
ordered. 

It  is  always  the  rule  that  virtue  is  op- 
pressed by  the  slander  of  the  wicked,  which, 
in  the  end,  reveals  them  for  what  they  are 
and  causes  them  to  be  despised  by  every 
one.  It  is  well  known  how  much  trouble 
this  made  in  the  conquest  of  the  Indies,  both 
for  Christopher  Columbus  and  later  for 
Ferdinand  Cortez  and  others,  who,  blamed 
unfairly,  justified  themselves  in  the  end  to 
the  Emperor. 

This  is  why  one  should  not  believe  any- 
thing thoughtlessly,  before  matters  have 
been  thoroughly  examined  into;  but  one 
should  always  recognize  the  merit  and 
worth  of  the  generous  courage  which  sac- 
rifices itself  for  God,  for  king  and  for 
country,  as  did  these  men  just  mentioned, 
to  whom  the  Emperor  accorded  recognition, 
in  spite  of  envy,  and  whom  he  honored  with 
wealth  and  fine,  honorable  commissions,  in 
order  to  give  them  courage  to  do  well,  in 
order  to  inspire  others  to  imitate  them,  and 
the  wicked  to  reform. 

21 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

While  Laudonniere  and  Ribaut  were  con- 
sulting about  having  their  provisions  un- 
loaded, they  sighted,  on  September  4,  1565, 
six  sails  which  seemed  to  be  big  vessels  and 
which  they  recognized  as  Spanish.  They 
dropped  anchor  in  the  harbor  where  Ri- 
Ti)aut's  four  ships  were  and  assured  the 
French  of  their  friendship.  Then,  seeing 
that  some  of  the  soldiers  were  on  shore, 
they  fired  cannon  shots  at  our  men,  which, 
since  their  force  was  small,  obliged  them  to 
cut  their  cable  at  the  hawse-holes  and  set 
sail.  The  Spaniards  did  the  same  and  pur- 
sued them  in  full  force  the  next  day.  And 
as  our  vessels  were  better  sailers  than  theirs, 
they  returned  to  the  coast  and  landed 
at  a  river,  eight  leagues  from  Fort  Caro- 
line, and  our  ships  returned  to  the  River  of 
May.  Three  of  the  Spanish  vessels,  how- 
ever, came  to  the  harbor  and  put  ashore 
their  infantry,  provisions  and  ammunition. 

Captain  Ribaut,  contrary  to  the  advice  of 
Laudonniere,  who  explained  to  him  the  dif- 
ficulties that  might  be  incurred,  whether 
from  the  heavy  winds  that  usually  prevailed 
at  that  season,  or  from  some  other  cause, 
though  it  was  an  obstinate  act,  and  he  al- 
ways wanted  to  have  his  own  way  without 
counsel,  which  is  a  very  bad  thing  in  such 
matters,  decided  to  face  the  Spaniard  and 

22 


SAMUEL    DE    CHAMPLAIN 

fight  him  at  whatever  cost.  With  this  ob- 
ject, he  had  his  vessels  manned  and 
equipped  with  all  that  was  necessary,  and 
set  sail  on  September  8.  He  left  his  men 
very  poorly  supplied  and  Laudonniere 
pretty  sick.  The  latter  did  not  cease  to  en- 
courage his  soldiers  all  he  could  and  ex- 
hort them  to  fortify  themselves  to  the  best 
of  their  ability,  so  as  to  resist  the  forces  of 
their  enemy,  who  were  getting  ready  to  at- 
tack Laudonniere  on  September  20.  At^'" 
that  time  there  was  a  very  violent  down- 
pour, which  continued  so  long  that  our  men, 
who  were  tired  out  w^itli  watching,  aban- 
doned their  task.  They  thought,  too,  that 
the  enemy  would  not  come  in  such  a  terri- 
ble storm.  Some  of  them  who  went  on  the 
rampart  saw  the  Spaniards  coming,  and 
cried :  'To  arms !  To  arms  !  The  enemy  is 
coming!"  At  this  cry,  Laudonniere  pre- 
pared to  await  them,  and  urged  his  men  tO' 
the  fight.  They  wanted  to  protect  two- 
breaches  that  had  not  yet  been  repaired,  but 
at  last  they  w^re  overcome  and  killed.  Lau- 
donniere, seeing  that  he  could  not  hold  out 
any  longer,  expected  to  be  killed  in  getting 
away,  and  escaped  into  the  woods  with  the 
savages,  where  he  found  a  number  of  sol- 
diers, whom  he  rallied  with  a  great  deal  of 
trouble.    Taking  their  way  through  heav^ 

23 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

swamps  and  marshes,  they  reached  the  en- 
trance of  the  River  of  May,  where  there  was 
a  ship  commanded  by  a  nephew  of  Cap- 
tain Ribaut,  who  had  not  been  able  to  get 
any  farther  than  this  place,  on  account  of 
the  great  storm.  The  other  ships  were  lost 
on  the  coast,  as  were  many  soldiers  and 
sailors.  Ribaut  and  many  others  were  cap- 
tured and  cruelly  and  inhumanly  killed ;  and 
some  of  them  were  hanged  with  an  inscrip- 
tion on  their  backs,  bearing  these  words : 
We  have  not  hanged  these  men  as  French- 
men,  hut  as  Lutherans,  enemies  of  the 
faiths 

Laudonniere,  in  the  face  of  so  many  dis- 
asters, decided  to  return  to  France  on  Sep- 
tember 25,  1565.  He  weighed  anchor,  set 
sail  on  November  11,  and  arrived  near  the 
coast  of  England.  As  he  felt  ill  there,  he 
had  them  put  him  ashore  to  retover  his 
health,  and  from  there  he  came  to  France 
to  make  his  report  to  the  King.  The  Span- 
iards, however,  fortified  themselves  in  three 
places  to  ensure  themselves  against  every 
event.    We  shall  see,  in  the  next  chapter, 

*This  last  is  not  well  authenticated.  The  most 
recent  and  most  careful  study  of  this  clash  be- 
tween the  French  and  the  Spaniards  in  Florida  is 
Woodbury  Lowery:  The  Spanish  Settlern'ents  in 
the  United  States,  1562-1574.  New  York,  1905. 

24 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

what  punishment  God  gave  to  the  Spaniards 
for  their  injustice  and  cruelty  to  the  French. 


CHAPTER    IV 

The  King  of  France  feigns  to  take  no  notice  for 
a  time  of  the  injury  that  he  has  received  from  the 
Spaniards  in  the  cruelty  that  they  showed  to  the 
French.  Vengeance  for  it  was  reserved  for  Sieur 
ChevaHer  de  Gourgues.  His  voyage:  his  arrival 
on  the  coast  of  Florida.  Is  attacked  by  some 
Spaniards  whom  he  defeats  and  treats  as  they  did 
the  French. 

The  King,  knowing  the  injustice  and  in- 
sults inflicted  on  the  French,  his  subjects, 
by  the  Spaniards,  as  I  have  said,  had  rea- 
son to  demand  reparation  and  satisfaction 
for  them  of  Charles  V,^  Emperor  and 
King  of  Spain,  on  the  ground  of  their  hav- 
ing been  committed  in  violation  of  the  prom- 
ise that  the  Spanish  had  made  not  to  disturb 
nor  molest  them  in  the  preservation  of  what 
they  had  gained  with  so  much  trouble  in 
New  France,^*  in  accordance  with  the  com- 
missions of  the  King  of  France,  their  mas- 

*The  King  of  Spain  at  this  time  was  Philip  II. 

^*This  statement  is  an  error.  The  Spanish  king 
had  made  no  such  promise.  His  attitude  was  quite 
the  contrary.  Cf.  Lowery,  Spanish  Settlements, 
1562-1574,  pp.  101-119. 

25 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS    ' 

ter,  of  which  the  Spaniards  were  not  igno- 
rant. Nevertheless,  they  had  put  them  to 
death  ignominiously,  on  the  specious  pre- 
tence that  they  were  Lutherans,  as  they 
said,  although  they  were  better  Catholics 
than  they  w^ere,  without  hypocrisy  or  super- 
stition, and  had  been  converted  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith  several  centuries  before  the  Span- 
iards.^ 

His  Majesty  feigned  to  take  no  notice  of 
this  offence  for  a  while,  because  the  two 
crowns  had  some  differences  to  settle  first, 
and  principally  w4th  the  Emperor,^  which 
prevented  any  satisfaction  being  received 
for  such  inhumanities. 

But  since  God  never  deserts  His  own  and 
never  suffers  barbarous  treatment  shown 
them  to  remain  unpunished,  these  Spaniards 
were  paid  back  in  the  same  coin  that  they 
had  offered  the  French.  For  in  the  year 
1567  appeared  the  brave  Chevalier  de  Gour- 
gues,  who  was  full  of  valor  and  courage,  to 
avenge  this  insult  to  the  French  nation; 

^Champlain  is  in  error  here.  The  majority  of 
the  French  were  Calvinists,  although  there  were 
some  Catholics  among  them.  See  Lowery,  Span- 
ish Settlements,  53. 

'This  is  not  clear,  but  apparently  Champlain 
means  that  the  Spanish  King  was  particularly  slow 
to  make  any  settlement  of  their  difficulties. 

26 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

and,  seeing  that  none  of  the  nobihty  with 
whom  France  abounded  offered  to  get  sat- 
isfaction for  such  an  injury,  he  undertook 
the  enterprise.  And,  in  order  not  to  have 
his  purpose  known  beforehand,  he  spread 
abroad  the  rumor  that  an  expedition  was 
being  prepared  for  a  certain  deed  that  he 
wished  to  accompHsh  on  the  coast  of  Africa. 
For  this  purpose  a  number  of  sailors  and 
soldiers  assembled  at  Bordeaux,  where  ship 
stores  of  all  kinds  are  supplied.  They  pro- 
vided and  furnished  themselves  with  every- 
thing that  he  thought  would  be  necessary 
on  this  voyage. 

He  set  sail  on  August  23  of  the  same 
year  in  three  ships,  and  he  had  with  him 
250  men.  Once  at  sea,  he  put  into  port  on 
the  coast  of  Africa,  either  to  recruit,  or  for 
some  other  reason.  But  it  was  not  for  long, 
for  he  set  sail  at  once,  and  made  it  known 
through  some  trustworthy  friends  of  his 
that  he  had  altered  his  first  plan  for  an- 
other, which  was  more  honorable  than  that 
in  connection  with  the  coast  of  Africa,  less 
dangerous,  and  easier  to  carry  out.  And 
where  he  stopped  to  recruit  he  was  told 
that  what  he  said  was  displeasing  to  several 
of  his  men,  who  believed  that  the  voyage 
was  ended,  and  that  they  would  have  to  go 
back  with  nothing  accomplished.  Neverthe- 

27 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

less,  they  all  had  a  great  desire  to  try  some 
other  plan. 

Sieur  de  Gourgues,  knowing  the  wish  of 
his  companions,  who  had  not  lost  cour- 
age, and  being  assured  in  regard  to  his 
crew,  found  an  excuse  to  assemble  his  coun- 
cil, whom  he  told  the  reason  why  he  could 
not  carry  out  what  he  had  undertaken.  He 
said  that  the  plan  must  not  be  thought  of 
any  more,  but  also  that  there  was  not  the 
slightest  probability  of  their  returning  to 
France  with  nothing  accomplished.  He  said 
that  he  knew  of  another  undertaking  not 
less  glorious  than  profitable  for  such  brave 
spirits  as  he  had  in  his  ships,  of  which  the 
memory  would  be  immortal ;  that  it  was  one 
of  the  most  signal  exploits  that  could  be 
undertaken.  ^  Each  one  was  consum^ed  with 
eagerness  and  desire  to  see  the  accomplish- 
ment of  what  he  mentioned,  and  he  told 
them  that  if  he  were  well  supported  in  this 
praiseworthy  enterprise  he  would  be  proud 
to  die  in  carrying  it  out.  And  as  they  wished 
Sieur  de  Gourgues  to  tell  them  his  plan  he 
got  them  all  together  and  spoke  as  follows : 

''My  companions  and  faithful  friends  of 
my  fortune,  you  are  not  ignorant  of  how 
much  I  cherish  such  brave  spirits  as  you. 
And  you  have  shown  this  courage  sufficient- 
ly by  the  fine  resolution  that  you  have  made 

28 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

to  follow  and  help  me  in  every  danger  and 
honorable  risk  that  we  shall  have  to  under- 
go and  face,  whenever  we  shall  be  confront- 
ed by  them.  And  you  know  the  interest  that 
I  have  in  the  preservation  of  your  lives.  I 
do  not  wish  to  mvolve  you  in  the  risk  of  an 
enterprise  that  I  might  know  would  end  in 
ruin  without  honor.  It  would  be  great  and 
reprehensible  foolhardiness  on  my  part  to 
risk  your  lives  in  a  plan  as  difficult  as  that, 
which  I  do  not  think  this  is,  seeing  that  I 
have  devoted  a  good  part  of  my  possessions 
and  many  of  my  friends  to  equip  these 
ships  and  send  them  to  sea,  for  I  am  the 
only  undertaker  of  this  voyage.  But  all 
that  does  not  give  me  so  much  cause  to  be 
anxious,  as  I  have  to  rejoice  to  see  that  you 
all  are  resolved  upon  another  enterprise, 
which  will  redound  to  your  glory:  to  wit, 
to  go  to  revenge  the  injury  which  our  na- 
tion received  from  the  Spaniards,  who  in- 
flicted such  a  wound  upon  France  that  she 
will  always  bleed  from  the  sufferings  and 
infamous  treatment  that  they  made  the 
French  endure,  and  the  barbarous  and  un- 
heard-of cruelties  which  they  committed. 
The  resentment  that  I  have  sometimes  felt 
on  account  of  it  has  made  me  shed  tears  of 
pity,  and  has  roused  my  courage  so  much 
that  I  have  resolved,  with  the  help  of  God, 

29 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

and  your  help,  to  have  just  revenge  for  such 
a  crime  and  such  cruelty  on  the  part  of  the 
Spaniards,  upon  these  base  and  cowardly 
hearts  who  miserably  surprised  our  fellow- 
countrymen,  whom  they  had  not  dared  to 
face  with  arms  in  their  hands.  They  are 
in  a  bad  situation,  and  we  shall  take  them 
by  surprise  easily.  I  have  men  on  my  ships 
who  know  the  country  very  well,  and  we 
can  go  there  in  safety.  Here,  dear  compan- 
ions, is  something  to  inspire  our  courage. 
Show  that  you  are  as  ready  to  carry 
out  this  good  plan  as  to  follow  me. 
Will  you  not  be  glad  to  bear  away  tri- 
umphant laurels  from  the  pillage  of  our 
enemies  ?" 

He  had  no  sooner  stopped  speaking  than 
each  of  them  cried,  joyfully :  "Let  us  go 
whither  you  will.  We  could  not  have  a 
greater  pleasure  and  honor  than  that 
which  you  propose,  which  is  a  thousand 
times  more  honorable  than  can  be  imag- 
ined. We  much  prefer  to  die  in  the  pursuit 
of  this  just  vengeance  for  the  insult  that 
was  offered  to  France  than  to  be  wounded 
in  another  undertaking.  The  greatest  de- 
sire of  us  all  is  to  conquer  or  to  die,  in 
showing  you  the  utmost  fidelity.  Command 
what  you  think  best ;  you  have  soldiers  who 
have  the  courage  to  accomplish  what  you 

30 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

command.    We  shall  not  rest  until  we  are 
face  to  face  with  the  enemy." 

Joy  increased  as  never  before  in  the  ships. 
Sieur  de  Gourgues  had  the  course  changed 
and  fired  several  cannon  shots  to  begin  the 
rejoicing  and  to  encourage  all  the  soldiers. 
And  then  this  generous   chevalier  set  sail 
toward  the  shores  of  Florida,  and  was  so 
favored  by  good  weather  that  in  a  few  days 
he  arrived  near  Fort  Caroline.     At  dawn 
the  savages  of  the  country   displayed  the 
smoke  of  many  fires,  until  Sieur  de  Gour- 
gues had  lowered  sail  and  dropped  anchor. 
He  sent  on  shore  to  find  out  from  the  sav- 
ages what  the  condition  of  the  Spaniards 
was.    They  were  very  glad  to  see  Sieur  de 
Gourgues  intent  upon  attacking  them.  They 
stated  that  they  were  about  400  in  number, 
very  well  armed,  and  equipped  with  every- 
thing necessary.    When  he  had  found  out 
how  the  Spaniards  were  encamped  he  be- 
gan to  prepare  his  soldiers  for  the  attack. 
Let  us  see  if  they  will  have  the  courage  to 
stand  by  Sieur  de  Gourgues,  just  as  they 
did  by  Laudonniere,  who  was  ill-suppHed 
with  ammunition  and  with  what  he  needed. 
Then  Sieur  de  Gourgues,  having  his  men 
and  some   savages  lead    him  through   the 
heart  of  the  woods,  without  being  seen  by 
the  Spaniards,  acquainted  himself  with  the 

31 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

places  and  the  condition  in  which  they  were. 
The  Saturday  before  Low  Sunday,  in  the 
month  of  April,  1568,  he  attacked  the  two 
forts  violently  and  prepared  to  take  them 
by  storm,  in  which  he  encountered  great  re- 
sistance. And  the  courage  of  the  French 
was  shown  when  the  battle  raged,  for 
they  threw  themselves  headlong  into  the 
fight,  at  times  being  driven  back,  and  then 
taking  heart  to  return  to  the  contest  with 
more  valor  than  before.  Though  severely 
attacked  they  defended  better.  Neither  death 
nor  wounds  made  them  turn  pale  or  made 
them  lose  either  judgment  or  bravery. 

Our  noble  chevaher,  cutlass  in  hand,  in- 
spired them  with  courage,  and,  like  a  bold 
lion,  at  the  head  of  his  men,  reached  the 
top  of  the  rampart,  beat  back  the  Spaniards 
and  made  his  way  among  them.  His  sol- 
diers followed  him,  fought  bravely,  forced 
an  entrance  into  the  two  forts,  and  killed 
all  whom  they  encountered ;  so  that  all  ex- 
cept those  who  died,  or  fled,  were  taken 
prisoners  by  the  French.  Those  who  ex- 
pected to  escape  into  the  woods  were  cut 
to  pieces  by  the  savages,  who  treated  them 
as  they  had  treated  our  men.  Two  days  af- 
terward Sieur  de  Gourgues  took  possession 
of  the  large  fort,  which  the  enemy  had  aban- 
doned afier  some  resistance,  some  of  their 

32 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

number  having  been  killed  and  others  cap- 
tured. 

As  he  continued  victorious  and  had  come 
to  the  end  of  so  glorious  an  undertaking, 
remembering  the  insult  that  the  Spaniards 
had  done  the  French,  he  had  some  of  them 
hanged,  with  inscriptions  on  the  back,  bear- 
ing these  words  :  "1  have  not  had  these  men 
hanged  as  Spaniards,  but  as  pirates,  rob- 
bers, and  sea  rovers."  After  this  execution 
he  had  the  forts  torn  down  and  destroyed; 
then  set  sail  to  return  to  France,  leaving  in 
the  hearts  of  the  savages  an  everlasting  re- 
gret at  being  deprived  of  so  high-minded  a 
captain.  His  departure  was  on  May  30, 
1568,  and  he  reached  Rochelle  on  June  6. 
From  there  he  went  to  Bordeaux,  where 
he  was  received  with  as  much  honor  and 
enthusiasm  as  ever  a  captain  was. 

But  no  sooner  had  he  arrived  in  France 
than  the  Emperor  sent  to  the  King  to  de- 
mand justice  for  his  subjects,  whom  Sieur 
de  Gourgues  had  hanged  in  the  West  In- 
dies. His  Majesty  was  so  angered  by  this 
that  he  threatened  to  have  Sieur  de  Gour- 
gues beheaded,  and  he  was  obliged  to  go 
away  for  some  time  until  the  King's  anger 
should  pass  off.  Thus  this  noble  Chevalier 
redeemed  the  honor  of  the  French  nation, 
which  the  Spaniards  had  offended,  and  it 

33 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

would  have  been  an  eternal  regret  to 
France  if  it  had  not  revenged  the  outrage 
received  from  the  Spanish  nation.  It  was 
the  noble  undertaking  of  a  gentleman,  who 
carried  it  out  at  his  own  cost  and  expense, 
solely  for  honor,  without  other  hope.  He 
achieved  it  gloriously,  and  this  glory  is 
more  to  be  esteemed  than  all  the  treasures 
of  the  world.^ 

We  have  observed  the  great  defects  and 
failures  in  the  voyages  of  Ribaut  and  Lau- 
donniere.  Ribaut  was  blamed  in  his  for 
not  carrying  provisions  for  more  than  ten. 
months,  and  not  ordering  land  cleared  and 
prepared  for  tilling,  in  order  to  be  provided 
against  the  scarcity  which  might  occur  and 
the  dangers  that  ships  encounter  at  sea,  or 
indeed  their  failure  to  arrive  in  time  to  re- 
lieve want.  It  at  last  reduced  those  who 
took  part  in  the  undertaking  to  the  greatest 
extremity,  even  to  the  point  of  killing  one 
another,  to  keep  alive  on  human  flesh,  as 
they  did  on  this  voyage,  which  caused  the 
soldiers  to  rebel  greatly  against  their  chief, 

*Parkman,  Pioneers  of  New  France,  171,  re- 
marks, in  regard  to  the  account  of  de  Gourgues* 
exploit:  "It  must  be  admitted  that  there  is  a 
strong  savor  of  romance  in  the  French  narrative.'* 
See  also  Lowery,  Spanish  Settlements,  1362-13^4, 
316-336. 

34 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

So  disorder  and  disobedience  were  rife 
among  them.  At  last  they  were  obUged, 
though  with  incredible  regret  and  after  a 
considerable  loss  of  men  and  property,  to 
abandon  the  land  and  possessions  that  they 
had  acquired  in  this  country ;  and  all  that 
for  the  lack  of  having  made  their  plans  with 
judgment  and  reason. 

Experience  shows  that  in  such  voyages 
and  expeditions  the  kings  and  princes  and 
the  members  of  their  council  who  have  un- 
dertaken them  had  too  little  knowledge  for 
carrying  out  their  plans.  It  shows  that  if 
there  have  been  men  of  experience  in  these 
matters,  they  have  been  few ;  for  most  men 
have  tried  these  undertakings  on  the  foolish 
reports  of  some  tricksters,  who,  simply  to 
give  themselves  importance,  pretended  to 
be  very  knowing  in  such  matters,  of  which 
they  were  very  ignorant.  For,  in  order  to 
begin  and  complete  these  enterprises  with 
honor  and  profit,  one  must  spend  long  years 
in  sea  voyages  and  be  experienced  in  such 
discoveries. 

The  greatest  mistake  that  Laudonniere 
made,  when  he  went  with  the  intention  of 
spending  the  winter,  was  to  provide  him- 
self with  so  few  provisions,  whereas  he 
ought  to  have  been  governed  by  the  exam- 
ple of  Captain  Albert's  wintering  at  Fort 

35 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

Charles,  whom  Ribaut  left  so  ill-supplied 
with  everything.  These  omissions  ordina- 
rily occur  in  such  undertakings,  because  it 
is  supposed  that  those  countries  yield  with- 
out being  planted.  Besides,  such  voyages 
are  undertaken  unreasonably,  without  prac- 
tical knowledge  or  experience.  It  is  one 
thing  to  make  such  plans  in  table  talk, 
drawing  on  the  imagination  for  the  situa- 
tion of  places,  the  customs  of  the  people 
who  inhabit  them,  the  profit  and  benefit  that 
may  be  derived  from  them.  It  is  a  very  dif- 
ferent matter  to  send  men  across  seas  to 
distant  countries,  to  traverse  unknown 
shores  and  islands,  from  what  it  is  to  form 
such  idle  fancies  in  the  mind,  making  ideal 
and  imaginary  voyages  and  navigations. 
That  is  not  the  way  to  carry  out  with  honor 
the  work  of  discovery.  First,  it  is  necessary 
to  consider  maturely  the  questions  which 
arise  in  such  matters ;  to  communicate  with 
those  who  have  acquired  a  great  deal  of 
knowledge  of  them,  who  know  the  difficul- 
ties and  the  dangers  which  they  offer,  in- 
stead of  setting  out  so  thoughtlessly  on  the 
strength  of  simple  report  and  talk.  For  it 
is  of  little  use  to  discourse  upon  distant 
countries,  and  go  to  live  in  them,  without 
having  first  explored  them,  and  having 
lived  in  them  at  least  a  whole  year,  in  or- 

36 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

der  to  understand  the  character  of  the  coun- 
tries, and  the  variety  of  seasons,  for  the 
sake  of  founding  a  colony  there  afterward. 
Most  of  the  undertakers  of  colonies  and  ex- 
plorers do  not  do  this,  but  are  satisfied 
merely  to  see  the  shores  and  hills  in  pass- 
ing, without  stopping  there. 

Others  undertake  such  voyages  on  the 
strength  of  simple  reports  made  to  persons 
who,  although  they  are  very  intelligent  in 
the  affairs  of  the  world,  and  have  had  long 
and  considerable  experience,  nevertheless 
are  ignorant  in  these  matters,  believing  that 
everything  follows  the  rule  that  exists  in 
the  latitude  where  they  are.  In  this  they 
find  themselves  very  much  mistaken.  For 
there  are  such  strange  changes  in  nature 
that  it  is  only  by  seeing  them  that  we  can 
believe  in  their  reality.  The  reasons  for  this 
are  extremely  varied  and  very  numerous, 
and  therefore  I  shall  pass  them  over  in  si- 
lence. I  have  said  this  in  passing,  in  order 
that  those  who  come  after  us  and  who  make 
new  plans  may  avail  themselves  of  these 
points  and  consider  them,  so  that  when  they 
set  sail  thither,  the  ruin  and  loss  of  others 
may  serve  as  an  example  and  as  an  appren- 
ticeship. 

The  third  fault,  and  the  most  harmful, 
of  Ribaut's  was  in  not  having  the  supplies 

37 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

and  ammunition  that  he  had  brought  for 
Laudonniere  and  his  companions  unloaded 
before  exposing  himself  to  the  danger  of 
losing  everything,  as  he  did,  since  he  did 
not  go  there  to  fight  the  enemy,  but  to 
be  always  on  the  defensive,  to  assist  Lau- 
donniere with  his  men,  to  fortify  himself, 
and  to  hold  his  own  against  those  who 
should  attack  him.  He  could  have  seen 
clearly  that,  since  it  was  the  purpose  of  the 
enemy  to  take  the  fort,  he  needed  to  be 
stronger  than  those  who  guarded  it,  if  he 
were  not  to  expose  himself  thoughtlessly  to 
danger  and  to  chance.  He  would  have  done 
better  to  take  account  of  the  forces  of  the 
enemy  before  attacking  them  and  being  sure 
of  victory.  But,  on  the  contrary,  as  a  result 
of  despising  the  advice  of  Laudonniere, 
who  was  more  experienced  than  he  in 
knowledge  of  the  places,  very  great  evil 
befell  him. 

Furthermore,  in  such  undertakings,  the 
ships  that  carry  the  provisions  and  the  mili- 
tary stores  for  a  colony  should  take  as  di- 
rect a  course  as  possible,  without  turning 
aside  to  give  chase  to  any  other  vessel,  since, 
if  they  found  it  necessary  to  fight  and 
should  lose,  this  misfortune  would  not  be 
confined  to  themselves,  but  they  would  put 
the  colony  in  danger  of  being  lost.   In  that 

38 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN. 

case,  the  men  would  be  obliged  to  give  up 
everything,  and  see  themselves  reduced  to 
suffer  a  miserable  death  from  the  hunger 
that  would  attack  them  when  the  provisions 
were  gone,  on  account  of  not  being  supplied 
and  provisioned  for  at  least  two  years,  while 
waiting  for  the  land  to  be  cleared  in  order 
to  support  those  who  are  in  the  country. 
These  are  great  mistakes,  like  those  of  our 
more  recent  undertakers  who  did  not  have 
any  land  cleared,  or  find  any  means  of  do- 
ing so,  in  the  twenty-two  years  during 
which  the  country  has  been  inhabited,  for 
they  had  no  thought  beyond  getting  profit 
from  furs.  The  day  will  come  when  they 
will  lose  all  that  we  possess  there.  This  is 
easy  to  see,  if  the  King  does  not  establish 
a  good  system  there. 

These  are  the  greatest  defects  that  can  be 
observed  in  the  first  voyages,  and  those  that 
followed  have  scarcely  been  more  fortunate. 


39 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


CHAPTER  V 

The  voyage  that  Sieur  de  Roberval  despatched. 
Sends  Alphonse  of  Saintonge  to  Labrador.  His 
departure.  His  arrival.  Return  on  account  of  the 
ice.  The  voyages  of  foreigners  to  the  North,  to 
go  to  the  West  (?)  Indies.^  Voyage  of  the  Mar- 
quis de  la  Roche  without  result.  His  death.  No- 
ticeable defect  in  his  undertaking. 

In  the  year  1541  Sieur  de  Roberval,  who 
had  renewed  this  holy  undertaking,  sent 
Alphonse,  of  Saintonge  (one  of  the  best 
navigators  of  his  time  in  France),  who 
wished,  by  his  discoveries,  to  find  a  more 
northern  passage  toward  Labrador.  He  had 
two  good  ships  equipped  with  all  that  he 
needed  for  this  discovery,  and  took  his  de- 
parture in  this  year,  1541.^  And  after  hav- 
ing sailed  along  the  northern  coasts,  and  the 
lands  of  Labrador,  in  search  of  a  passage 
that  would  facilitate  commerce  with  the 
people  of  the  East,  by  a  shorter  way  than 
that  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  or  by 
the  Straits  of  Magellan,  owing  to  chance 

^It  should  be  East  Indies. 

^Roberval  despatched  Cartier  in  1541  and  went 
himself  with  Alphonse  in  1542.  See  Parkman, 
Pioneers  of  France,  216-22S. 

40 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

obstacles,  and  the  risk  that  he  ran  from 
the  ice,  he  was  obliged  to  return ;  and  he 
had  no  more  to  pride  himself  on  than  Car- 
tier. 

This  second  enterprise  was  only  for  the 
purpose  of  discovering  a  passage,  but  the 
other^  was  to  explore  the  interior,  and  in- 
habit it,  if  possible.  Thus  these  two  voy- 
ages did  not  succeed.  As  for  the  passage, 
I  shall  not  describe  in  detail  the  attempts 
of  foreign  nations  to  find  a  passage  by  the 
north,  to  go  to  the  East  Indies :  how,  in  the 
years  1576,  1577  and  1578,  Mr.  Martin  For- 
bichet*  made  three  voyages ;  and,  seven 
years  afterward,^  Humphrey  Gilbert  went 
there  with  five  ships.  He  was  lost  on  Sable 
Island  and  lived  there  two  years.®  After- 
ward John  Davis,  an  Englishman,  made 
three  voyages;^  got  as  far  as  latitude  ']2* , 
and  passed  by  a  strait  that  bears  his  name 
now.  Another  man,  named  Captain  Georges, 
made  this  voyage  in  the  year  1590,  and  on 
account  of  the  ice  was  obhged  to  return 

'Roberval's  voyage  of  1542. 

^Frobisher. 

'I.  e.,  1583. 

^Gilbert's  largest  ship,  the  Delight,  was  wrecked 
on  Sable  Island,  but  he  was  lost  on  his  return  in 
the  Squirrel. 

'1585.  1586,  1587. 

41 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

without  accomplishing  anything.^  Several 
others  who  have  undertaken  it  have  had  a 
similar  fortune. 

As  for  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese, 
they  have  wasted  their  time  there.  The 
Dutch  fared  no  better  in  searching  for  such 
a  passage  toward  the  East  by  way  of  Nova 
Zembla  than  the  others  who  lost  so  much 
time  in  looking  for  it  in  the  West,  beyond 
the  lands  called  Labrador. 

All  this  is  only  to  show  how  much  honor, 
if  this  passage,  which  was  so  greatly  de- 
sired, had  been  found,  would  have  come  to 
him  who  lighted  upon  it;  and  how  much 
advantage  to  the  state  or  realm  which 
would  have  possessed  it.  Since,  then,  it  is 
our  own  opinion  that  this  enterprise  is  of 
such  value,  it  should  not  be  despised  now, 
and  that  which  cannot  be  done  in  one  place 
can  be  accomplished  in  another,  in  time, 
provided  His  Majesty  be  pleased  to  assist 
the  undertakers  of  so  praiseworthy  a  pro- 
ject. I  will  leave  this  discourse  to  return 
to  our  new  conquerors  in  the  country  of 
New  France. 

Sieur  Marquis  de  la  Roche,  of  Brittany, 

^'\pparently  this  Captain  Georges  should  be  Cap- 
tain George  Weymouth.  If  so.  the  voyage  was  in 
1602.  There  was  no  Arctic  voyage  in  1590  that  is 
recorded. 

42 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

incited  by  a  holy  desire  to  raise  the  stand- 
ard of  Jesus  Christ,  and  set  up  the  arms  of 
his  King,  took  a  commission,  in  the  year 
1598,    from     King   Henry   the    Great    (of 
happy  memory),  who  felt  much  interest  in 
the  plan.    Sieur  de  la  Roche  had  several 
ships  fitted  out,  with  a  number  of  men  and 
a  full  equipment  of  things    necessary  for 
such  a  voyage.  But  as  he  had  no  knowledge 
of  the  places,  except  through  a  pilot  named 
Chedotel,^  from  Normandy,  he  landed  his 
men   on   Sable   Island,   25   leagues   to  the 
south  of  the  land  of  Cape  Breton.     There 
the  men,  who  stayed  in  this  place  with  very 
few  conveniences,  were    left    for    seven^** 
years  with  no  help  but  that  of  God.    They 
were  obliged  to  live  in  the  earth,  like  foxes, 
for  there  was  neither  wood  nor  stone  in 
this  island  suitable  for  building,  except  the 
wreckage  and  broken  pieces  of  vessels  that 
came  to  the  coast  of  the  island.    Tliey  lived 
on  nothing  but  the  Besh  of  oxen  and  cows, 
which   animals  they  found  there  in  great 
quantity,  for  they  had  escaped  from  a  Span- 
ish ship  which  was  lost  on  its  way  to  in- 
habit the    Island  of  Cape  Breton.     They 
dressed  in  the  skins  of  seals,  when  they  had 
worn  out  their  clothes,  saving  the  oil  for 

"Also  written  Chefdostel  and  Chefd'hostel. 
lofive  years,  1 598-1 603. 

43 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

their  use.  Tliey  also  relied  upon  catching 
fish,  which  is  plentiful  about  that  island. 
They  stayed  there  until  the  parliament  of 
Rouen  ordered  the  before-mentioned  Che- 
dotel  to  go  to  rescue  these  poor  wretches, 
with  the  understanding  that  he  should  have 
half  of  the  commodities  that  they  had  been 
able  to  collect  during  their  sojourn  in  this 
island,  such  as  hides,  seal-skins,  oil,  and 
black  foxes.  This  was  done.  Returning 
to  France  at  the  end  of  seven  years,  some 
of  them  went  to  see  His  Majesty  in  Paris, 
who  commanded  the  Duke  of  Sully  to  sup- 
ply their  needs.  He  did  so,  to  the  amount 
of  50  crowns,  to  encourage  them  to  go 
back.  The  Marquis  de  la  Roche,  meanwhile, 
who  was  trying,  in  court,  to  get  the  things 
that  His  Majesty  had  promised  him  for  his 
project,  was  denied  them  at  the  request  of 
certain  persons  who  did  not  wish  the  true 
religion  of  God  to  grow,  or  to  see  the  Cath- 
olic, Apostolic  and  Roman  religion  flourish 
there.  This  caused  him  so  much  displeasure 
that,  on  that  account  and  for  other  reasons, 
he  was  attacked  by  a  severe  sickness,  which 
carried  him  ofif.  He  had  given  all  his  prop- 
erty and  labor  without  experiencing  any  re- 
sult. 

In  this  plan  of  his  two  defects  may  be 
noted :  one,  that  this  Marquis  did  not  have 

44 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

some  one  experienced  in  such  matters  ex- 
plore and  reconnoitre  where  he  was  to  set- 
tle, before  assuming  so  excessive  an  out- 
lay; the  other,  that  envious  persons  who 
were  near  the  King  in  his  council  at  this 
time  interfered  with  the  accompHshment  of 
the  project  and  the  good  intention  that  His 
Majesty  had  of  conferring  benefits  upon 
him.  Thus  kings  are  often  deceived  by 
those  in  whom  they  have  confidence.  The 
history  of  the  past  sufficiently  illustrates  the 
fact,  and  this  instance  can  furnish  us  an 
example  of  it.  This  is  the  end  of  the  fourth 
voyage.   We  come  to  the  fifth. 


45 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


CHAPTER  VI 

Voyage  of  Sieur  de  Saint  Chauvin.  His  plan. 
Remonstrances  made  with  him  by  Pont  Grave. 
Sieur  de  Monts  goes  with  him.  Return  of  St. 
Chauvin  and  Du  Pont  to  France.  Second  voyage 
of  Chauvin :  his  plan. 

A  YEAR  afterward,  in  1599,  Sieur  Chau- 
vin of  Normandy,  Captain  in  the  King's 
Navy,  a  man  of  great  skill  and  experienced 
in  navigation  (who  had  served  His  Majesty 
in  past  wars,  although  he  belonged  to  the 
religion  pretending  to  be  reformed^),  un- 
dertook this  voyage  under  the  commission 
of  His  Majesty,  at  the  request  of  Sieur  da 
Pont  Grave,  of  St.  Malo,  a  man  expert  in 
sea  voyages,  for  he  had  made  many  of  them. 
He  was  accompanied  by  other  ships  as  far 
as  Tadoussac,  ninety  leagues  up  the  river; 
a  place  where  they  traded  for  fur  and 
beaver  with  the    savages  of  the  country, 

*L  e.,  the  Protestant  relig^ion.  The  French  Cal- 
vinists,  or  Pluguenots,  called  their  faith  the  re- 
formed religion,  and  they  were  called  the  "re- 
formed," in  distinction  from  the  followers  of 
Luther.  Catholic  writers  commonly  prefixed  "pre- 
tendue"  to  the  word  "reformee" — e.  g.,  "la  re- 
ligion pretendue  reformee." 

46 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

who  came  there  every  spring.  This  Du 
Pont,  desiring  to  find  means  to  control  this 
traffic,  went  to  court,  to  seek  some  one  of 
authority  and  special  influence  with  the 
King,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  com- 
mission to  the  effect  that  the  trade  of  this 
river  should  be  forbidden  to  all  persons 
without  the  permission  and  consent  of  him 
who  should  be  provided  with  that  same 
commission,  on  condition  that  they  should 
settle  in  the  country,  and  make  a  home 
there.  This  was  a  good  beginning  and 
one  which  would  not  cost  the  King  any- 
thing if  what  was  in  the  commission 
should  be  carried  out.  It  was  the  plan  to 
take  five  hundred  men  there  to  fortify  the 
country  and  defend  it.  The  King  had  great 
confidence  in  this  undertaker  who,  never- 
theless, did  not  expect  to  go  to  any  more 
expense  than  he  could  help ;  for,  under  the 
pretext  of  making  a  settlement,  and  of  car- 
rying out  what  he  had  promised,  he  wished 
to  deprive  all  the  subjects  of  the  realm  of 
trade  there,  and  to  keep  the  beaver  for  him- 
self alone.  And  to  give  the  enterprise  a 
good  start  he  began  his  preparations.  The 
ships  were  equipped  with  such  necessaries 
as  he  thought  suitable  for  the  enterprise. 
Many  artisans  set  out  and  presented  them- 
selves at  Honfleur,  the  place  of  embarka- 

47 


I  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

tion.  When  his  ships  were  out  at  sea  he 
made  this  same  Pont  Grave  his  Heutenant 
of  one  of  them.  But,  since  the  head  was  of 
the  opposing  reHgion,  this  was  not  the  way 
to  estabHsh  the  faith  among  those  people 
whom  they  wished  to  subjugate.  This  was 
what  was  least  considered.  They  went  to 
the  harbor  of  Tadoussac,  the  trading-place, 
and  the  affair  was  rather  badly  managed 
for  making  great  progress.  They  decided 
to  build  a  habitation  there:  the  most  dis- 
agreeable and  barren  place  in  this  country, 
covered  with  nothing  but  pines,  firs,  birches, 
mountains  and  almost  inaccessible  cliffs,  the 
soil  very  ill-fitted  for  any  profitable  cultiva- 
tion, and  the  cold  so  extreme  that  if  there 
is  an  ounce  of  cold  forty  leagues  up  the 
river  there  is  a  pound  at  Tadoussac.  And 
how  many  times  have  I  been  astonished 
to  see  these  places  so  frightful  in  the 
spring ! 

Now,  when  this  Sieur  Chauvin  wished  to 
build  there,  and  to  leave  some  men,  and  to 
protect  them  against  the  severe  cold,  al- 
though he  had  learned  from  Pont  Grave 
that  it  was  not  his  opinion  that  they  should 
build  there,  Pont  Grave  urged  Sieur  Chau- 
vin several  times  to  go  up  this  river,  where 
it  is  better  for  building,  for  he  had  been 
on  another  voyage  as  far  as  tlie  three  riv- 

48 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

ers,  in  search  of  the  savages,  in  order  to 
trade  with  them. 

Sieur  de  Monts  took  this  same  voyage  for 
pleasure,  with  Sieur  Chauvin,  and  he  was  of 
the  same  opinion  as  Grave,  and,  perceiving 
that  this  place  was  very  disagreeable,  he 
would  have  been  very  glad  to  look  at  what 
was  farther  up  the  river.  But  whatever 
was  the  reason,  whether  because  the  time 
did  not  permit  then,  or  because  of  other 
considerations  in  the  mind  of  the  under- 
taker, he  employed  several  workmen  to 
build  a  villa,  twenty-five  feet  long  by 
eighteen  wide  and  eight  feet  high.  It  was 
covered  with  boards,  with  a  fireplace  in 
the  middle,  and  was  in  the  shape  of 
a  guardhouse,  and  was  surrounded  by 
hurdles  (which  I  have  seen  there)  and 
a  small  ditch  dug  in  the  sand.  For,  in 
that  country,  where  there  are  no  rocks, 
it  is  all  very  poor  sand.  There  was  a  lit- 
tle brook  below,  where  they  left  sixteen 
men  provided  with  a  few  necessaries,  whom 
they  could  harbor  in  this  same  lodging. 
The  little  that  they  had  was  put  at  the  dis- 
posal of  all,  and  so  it  did  not  last  long. 
Behold  them  there  very  warm  for  the  win- 
ter! Having  done  this  much,  Sieur  Chau- 
vin returned,  not  caring  to  look  or  discover 
further.   Pont  Grave  did  the  same. 

49 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

While  they  were  in  France  our  winterers 
consumed,  in  a  short  time,  the  little  that 
they  had,  and  when  winter  came  upon  them 
they  were  well  aware  of  the  difference  be- 
tween France  and  Tadoussac.  It  was  the 
court  of  King  Petaud;  each  one  wished  to 
command.  Laziness  and  idleness,  with  the 
diseases  that  attacked  them,  reduced  them 
to  great  want,  and  obliged  them  to  give 
themselves  up  to  the  savages,  who  kindly 
harbored  them,  and  they  left  their  lodging. 
Some  died  miserably;  others  suffered  a 
great  deal  while  waiting  for  the  return  of 
the  ships. 

Sieur  Chauvin,  seeing  his  men  filling  their 
lungs  with  the  air  of  the  Saguenay,  which 
was  very  dangerous,  arranged  to  make  a 
second  voyage,  which  was  as  fruitful  as  the 
first.  He  wanted  to  make  another  better 
planned,  but  he  did  not  keep  at  it  long  be- 
fore he  was  seized  with  a  malady  that  sent 
him  to  another  world. 

The  trouble  with  this  undertaking  was 
giving  to  a  man  of  opposing  religion  a 
commission  to  establish  a  nursery  for  the 
Catholic,  Apostolic  and  Roman  faith,  of 
which  the  heretics  have  such  a  horror  and 
abomination.  These  are  the  defects  that 
must  be  mentioned  in  regard  to  this  enter- 
prise. 

SO 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN 


CHAPTER  VII 

Fourth  undertaking  in  New  France  by  the  Com- 
mander de  Chaste.  Sieur  du  Pont  Grave  chosen 
for  the  voyage  to  Tadoussac.  The  author  under- 
takes the  voyage.  Their  arrival  at  the  Great  Sault 
St.  Louis.  Their  difficulty  in  passing  it.  Their  re- 
treat. Death  of  this  commander,  which  breaks  up 
the  sixth  voyage.^ 

The  fourth  undertaking  was  that  of  Sieur 
Commander  de  Chaste,  Governor  of  Dieppe, 
who  was  a  very  honorable  man,  a  good 
Catholic,  and  a  great  servant  of  the  King. 
He  had  served  His  Majesty  worthily  and 
faithfully  on  many  important  occasions. 
And  though  his  head  bore  the  weight  of 
grey  hairs,  as  well  as  of  years,  he  still 
wished  to  hand  down  to  posterity,  by  this 
praiseworthy  undertaking,  his  favorable 
opinion  of  the  design,  and  even  wished  to 
go  there  himself,  to  spend  his  remaining 
years  in  the  service  of  God  and  of  his  King, 
by  making  a  home  there ;  with  the  intention 

*The  original  has  here  the  Arabic  numeral  "6." 
This  is  inconsistent  with  the  opening  line  of  this 
summary  and  with  the  conclusion  of  the  chapter. 
Through  some  inadvertence,  probably  "6"  was  set 
up  by  the  printer  instead  of  "5." 

51 


UNIVERSITY  0^ 
laiNOiS  LIBRARY 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLOR.\TIONS 

of  living  and  dying  there  gloriously,  as  he 
hoped,  if  God  had  not  taken  him  from  this 
world  sooner  than  he  expected.  One  may 
be  very  sure  that  under  his  management 
heresy  never  would  have  been  implanted  in 
the  Indies ;  for  he  had  very  Christian  plans, 
of  which  I  could  show  good  proof,  as  he 
did  me  the  honor  to  communicate  somewhat 
of  them  to  me. 

After  the  death  of  Chauvin,  then,  he  ob- 
tained a  new  commission  from  His  Majesty. 
Inasmuch  as  the  expense  was  very  great,  he 
formed  a  company  with  several  gentlemen 
and  principal  merchants  of  Rouen,  and  of 
other  places,  upon  certain  conditions.  When 
this  was  done,  they  had  ships  equipped,  not 
only  for  the  carrying  out  of  this  undertak- 
ing, but  for  discovering  and  peopling  the 
country.  Pont  Grave,  with  His  Majesty's 
commission  (as  one  who  had  already  made 
the  voyage  and  knew  the  difficulties  of  the 
passage),  was  chosen  to  go  to  Tadoussac, 
and  promised  to  go  as  far  as  Sault  St. 
Louis,^  explore  it,  and  go  farther,  in  order 
to  make  a  report  on  his  return,  and  direct 
a  second  expedition.  And  the  Sieur  Com- 
mander left  his  position  as  Governor,  with 

^The  Lachine  Rapids,  just  above  Montreal. 
Hereafter,  in  the  text,  it  will  be  translated  the 
St.  Louis  Rapids. 

52 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

the  permission  of  His  Majesty,  who  loved 
him  specially,  to  go  to  the  country  of  New; 
France. 

At  this  time  I  arrived  at  court,  having 
just  returned  from  the  West  Indies,  where 
I  had  been  nearly  two  years  and  a  half, 
after  the  Spaniards  had  left  Blavet,^  and 
peace  was  made  with  France.  There,  dur- 
ing the  wars,  I  had  served  His  Majesty  un- 
der Marshal  d'Aumont,  de  Saint  Luc,  and 
Marshal  de  Brissac.  As  I  went  to  see  Sieur 
Commander  de  Chaste  from  time  to  time, 
thinking  that  I  could  serve  him  in  his  pur- 
pose, he  did  me  the  favor,  as  I  have  said, 
to  tell  me  something  about  it,  and  to  ask 
me  if  I  would  like  to  go  on  the  voyage,  to 
see  the  country,  and  what  the  undertakers 
were  doing  there.  I  told  him  that  I  was 
his  servant ;  that  as  for  allowing  myself  the 
liberty  to  go  on  this  voyage  I  could  not 
do  that  without  the  command  of  His  Majes- 
ty, to  whom  I  was  under  obligations,  not 
only  from  my  birth,  but  by  reason  of  a 
pension  with  which  he  honored  me,  so  that 
I  might  have  means  to  support  myself  at 

'Now  Port  Louis  In  the  department  of  Morbi- 
han.  The  Spaniards 'surrendered  Blavet  in  June, 
1598.  Champlain's  narrative  of  his  voyage  to  the 
West  Indies  may  be  read  in  English  in  the  edition 
published  by  the  Hakluyt  Society  in  1859. 

53 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

court;  and  that  if  he  wished  to  speak  to 
him  about  it,  and  the  King  should  command 
me  to  go,  I  should  find  it  very  agreeable. 
This  he  promised  me,  and  he  did  so,  and 
he  received  word  from  His  Majesty  for  me 
to  make  this  voyage,  and  to  bring  him  a 
faithful  report  of  it.  To  this  end,  Monsieur 
de  Gesvre,  his  executive  secretary,  sent  me 
with  a  letter  addressed  to  Pont  Grave,  tell- 
ing him  to  receive  me  into  his  ship,  and 
have  me  see  and  become  acquainted  with 
all  I  could  in  these  places,  and  to  aid  me 
himself,  so  far  as  was  possible  in  this  en- 
terprise. 

Thus  despatched,  I  left  Paris,  and  sailed 
in  Du  Pont's  ship  in  the  year  1603.  We  had 
a  good  voyage  as  far  as  Tadoussac,  with 
medium-sized  barks  of  from  12  to  15 
tons  burden,  and  went  a  league  up  the 
great  St.  Louis  Rapids.  Pont  Grave  and  I 
got  into  a  very  light  little  boat,  with  five 
sailors,  so  as  not  to  have  to  navigate  a 
larger  one,  because  of  the  difficulties. 
When  we  had  gone  a  league  in  a  sort  of 
lake  with  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  on  ac- 
count of  the  little  water  that  we  found  in 
it,  and  had  reached  the  foot  of  the  rapids, 
which  empties  into  this  lake,  we  decided 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  go  farther 
with  our  skiff ;  for  it  was  so  raging  and  in- 

54 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

terspersed  with  rocks  that  we  found  our- 
selves obliged  to  go  almost  a  league  by  land 
to  see  the  upper  part  of  the  rapids,  and  we 
could  not  see  any  more  of  it.  All  that  we 
could  do  was  to  note  the  difficulties;  the 
whole  country;  the  length  of  this  river; 
the  reports  of  savages  as  to  what  was 
in  the  land;  their  accounts  of  the  people; 
the  places ;  the  sources  of  the  principal  riv- 
ers, especially  of  the  great  River  St.  Law- 
rence. 

Then  I  wrote  a  short  account,*  and  made 
an  exact  map  of  all  that  I  had  seen  and 
observed,  and  so  we  returned  to  Tadoussac, 
having  made  but  Httle  progress.  Our  ves- 
sels were  there  trading  with  the  savages; 
and  when  this  was  done  we  embarked,  set- 
ting sail,  and  went  back  to  Honfleur.  There 
we  learned  the  news  of  the  death  of  Sieur 
Commander  de  Chaste,  which  was  a  great 

*Champlain's  account  of  the  voyage  of  1603  was 
published  in  Paris  in  1603  under  the  title:  Des 
Sauvages,  ou  Voyage  de  Samuel  Champlain,  de 
Brouage,  faict  en  la  France  Nouvelle,  Van  mil 
six  cens  trots.  It  was  translated  into  English  by 
Purchas  and  published  in  Purchas  His  Pilgrims. 
London:  1625,  vol.  vi,  pp.  1605-1619.  This  version 
is  reprinted  in  the  present  edition,  vol.  ii,  pp. 
151-229.  This  narrative  was  newly  translated  by 
Professor  Otis  for  the  Prince  Society  edition  of 
Champlain' s  Voyages.    See  vol.  '   231-291. 

55 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS    ■ 

affliction  to  me,  for  I  perceived  that  it  would 
be  difficult  for  any  one  else  to  undertake 
this  voyage  without  being  thwarted,  unless 
he  were  a  Seigneur  whose  authority  had 
the  power  to  overcome  envy. 

I  scarcely  paused  at  Honfleur,  but  went 
on  to  His  Majesty,  to  whom  I  showed  the 
map^  of  this  country,  with  the  very  careful 
account  that  I  had  written  of  it.  He  was 
much  pleased  with  it,  promising  not  to  give 
up  the  project,  but  to  have  it  continued,  and 
to  favor  it.  Thus,  the  fifth  voyage  was 
broken  up  by  the  death  of  this  Commander. 

I  have  not  noted  any  defect  in  this  un- 
dertaking, as  far  as  the  beginning  of  it 
was  concerned.  But  I  know  that  immedi- 
ately several  French  merchants  who  had  an 
interest  in  this  business  began  to  complain 
that  the  fur  trade  was  closed  to  them  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  it  to  one  man. 

'This  map  is  no  longer  extant 


S6 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN        ^ 


CHAPTER   VIII 

Voyage  of  Sieur  de  Monts.  Wishes  to  continue 
the  plan  of  the  late  Commander  de  Chaste.  Ob- 
tains a  commission  from  the  king  to  make  dis- 
coveries farther  south.  Forms  a  company  with 
the  merchants  of  Rouen  and  Rochelle.  The  au- 
thor goes  with  him.  They  reach  Cape  Heve.  They 
discover  several  harbors  and  rivers.  Sieur  de  Poi- 
trincourt  goes  with  Sieur  de  Monts.  Complaints 
of  thie  Sieur  de  Monts.   His  commission  revoked. 

After  the  death  of  Sieur  the  Commander 
de  Chaste,  Sieur  de  Monts,  of  Saintonge,  of 
the  so-called  reformed  religion,  Gentleman- 
in-ordinary  of  the  King's  Chamber,  and 
Governor  of  Pons,  who  had  given  good 
service  to  the  King  in  all  the  past  wars,  in 
whom  the  King  had  great  confidence,  on 
account  of  his  faithfulness,  which  he  ex- 
hibited even  unto  his  death,  was  carried 
away  by  zeal  and  longing  to  people  and  in- 
habit the  country  of  New  France,  and  there 
expose  his  life  and  his  property.  He  wished 
to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  late  Com- 
mander in  that  country,  where  he  had  been, 
as  I  have  said,  with  Sieur  Chauvin,  to  ex- 
plore, although  the  little  that  he  had  seen 
had  made  him  lose  the  desire  to  go  to  the 
great    River    St.    Lawrence,  having   seen 

S7. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

nothing  on  this  voyage  but  a  rugged  coun- 
try. This  made  him  wish  to  go  farther 
south,  to  enjoy  a  softer  and  more  pleasant 
air.  And,  not  pausing  at  the  accounts  of 
it  that  had  been  given  to  him,  he  wished  to 
look  for  a  place  of  which  he  knew  neither 
the  situation  nor  the  temperature,  except 
through  the  imagination  and  the  reason, 
which  concludes  that  the  nearer  the  south 
the  warmer  the  climate.  Desiring  to  carry 
out  this  noble  undertaking,  he  got  a  com- 
mission from  the  King,  in  the  year  1603,^ 
to  people  and  inhabit  the  country,  on  con- 
dition of  implanting  there  the  Catholic, 
Apostolic  and  Roman  faith,  letting  each 
one  live  according  to  his  religion.^  That 
being  granted,  he  continued  the  company 
with  the  merchants  of  Rouen,  Rochelle,  and 

*The  text  has  1623,  an  obvious  misprint.  The 
patent  is  dated  Nov.  8,  1603.  It  is  printed  in  Les- 
carbot,  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  book  iv, 
ch.  I.  It  is  accessible  in  English  in  Murdoch's 
History  of  Nova  Scotia,  I,  21-24. 

^This  last  clause  must  refer  to  the  practice  of  De 
Monts.  There  is  nothing  about  religious  toleration 
in  the  charter.  This  charter,  which  made  De  Monts 
the  King's  Lieutenant-General,  or  Viceroy,  in  1603 
over  the  region  between  the  40th  and  46th  paral- 
lels, i,  e.,  from  Philadelphia  to  Cape  Breton, 
should  be  compared  with  the  earlier  English  pro- 
prietary grants.     In  less  than  three  years   after 

58 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

other  places,  to  whom  the  fur  trade  was 
granted  by  this  commission,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  the  other  subjects  of  His  Majes- 
ty. When  everything  was  arranged,  Sieur 
de  Monts  set  sail  at  Havre  de  Grace,  and 
had  several  ships  equipped,  not  only  for  the 
fur  trade  of  Tadoussac,  but  for  that  of  the 
shores  of  New  France.  He  got  together  a 
number  of  gentlemen,  and  all  sorts  of  arti- 
sans, soldiers  and  others,  as  many  of  one 
religion  as  of  another,  priests  and  minis- 
ters. 

Sieur  de  Monts  asked  me  if  I  would  like 
to  make  the  voyage  with  him.  The  desire 
that  I  had  had  on  the  last  voyage  had  in- 
creased, and  led  me  to  agree  to  go,  with  the 
permission  that  the  King  should  give  me, 
which  would  allow  me  to  go,  with  the  un- 
derstanding that  I  should  make  a  faithful 
report  to  him  of  all  that  I  saw  and  discov- 
ered. When  we  all  were  at  Dieppe,  we  set 
sail.  One  ship  went  to  Tadoussac ;  that 
of  Pont  Grave  with  the  commission  of 
Sieur  de  Monts,  to  Canseau,  and  along  the 
coast  toward  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton,  to 
see  those  who  were  violating  the  regulations 

Henry  IV's  grant  to  De  Monts,  James  I  granted 
five-sixths  of  this  same  region  to  the  Virginia 
Company,  April  10-20,  1606,  absolutely  ignoring 
any  French  claims  ajid  King  Henry's  patent. 

59 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

of  His  Majesty.  Sieur  de  Monts  took  a 
lower  course  toward  the  shores  of  Acadie,^ 
and  the  weather  was  so  favorable  for  us 
that  we  were  only  a  month  in  getting  as  far 
as  Cape  de  la  Heve.*  When  we  arrived 
there  we  went  on  farther  to  look  for  a 
place  to  settle  in,  as  we  did  not  find  this 
one  pleasant.  Sieur  de  Monts  delegated 
me  to  search  for  some  suitable  place,  which 
I  did  with  a  certain  pilot  whom  I  took  with 
me.  We  discovered  several  harbors  and  riv- 
ers, when  Sieur  de  Monts  stopped  at  an  isl- 
and named  St.  Croix,^  of  which  he  thought 
the  site  strong,  the  soil  round  about  very 
good;  the  temperature  (in  latitude  45°) 
mild.  He  had  his  ships  come  there,  and 
employed  each  man,  according  to  his  sta- 
tion and  trade,  either  to  unload  them,  or 
to  prepare  a  lodging  promptly  When  the 
ships  were  unloaded  he  sent  them  back  as 
speedily  as  possible,  and  Sieur  de  Poutrin- 
court^  (who  had  come  with  Sieur  de  Monts 
to  see  the  country,  with  the  idea  of  inhabit- 

'Acadie  later  meant  Nova  Scotia.  Here  it  means 
the  coast  region  granted  to  De  Monts  between  the 
40th  and  46th  parallels. 

*Cape  La  Have  on  modern  maps;  about  fifty 
miles  southwest  of  Halifax. 

*Dochet  Island,  in  the  St.  Croix  River. 

"This  name  is  spelled  Poitrincourt  in  the  text, 
but  the  accepted  form,  Poutrincourt,  will  be  used. 

60 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

ing  it,  and  of  securing  the  grant  of  some 
place  from  him,  in  pursuance  of  his  com- 
mission)  returned  with  them. 

But  we  will  let  him  go,  while  we  see  if 
we  shall  overcome  the  cold  better  than  those 
who  wintered  at  Tadoussac.  When  our 
ships  had  returned  to  France  they  heard  an 
infinite  number  of  complaints  from  the  Bre- 
tons, the  Basques,  and  others,  of  the  ill- 
usage  and  bad  treatment  that  they  received 
on  our  shores,  from  the  captains  of  Sieur 
de  Monts,  who  seized  them,  prevented  them 
from  fishing  and  deprived  them  of  the  use 
of  things  which  had  always  been  free  to 
them;  so  that  if  the  King  did  not  intro- 
duce some  regulations  there,  all  this  navi- 
gation would  be  lost,  and  his  custom-duties 
would,  in  this  way,  be  diminished  and  their 
women  and  children  would  be  made  poor 
and  miserable  and  be  obliged  to  beg  for  their 
living.  Petitions  were  sent  in  with  regard 
to  this,  but  the  envy  and  wrangling  did  not 
cease.  There  was  no  lack  in  court  of  per- 
sons who  promised  that,  for  a  sum  of 
money,  Sieur  de  Monts'  commission  should 
be  annulled.  The  affair  was  so  conducted 
that  Sieur  de  Monts  did  not  know  how  to 
prevent  the  estrangement  of  the  King  to- 
ward him,  by  certain  personages  in  favor, 
who  had  promised  the    King  to   support 

6i 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

three  hundred  men  in  this  country.  So,  in 
a  short  time,  His  Majesty's  commission  was 
revoked  at  the  price  of  a  certain  sum  that 
a  certain  personage  received,  without  His 
Majesty's  knowing  anything  about  it.'^  Such 
was  the  recompense  for  the  three  years  that 
Sieur  de  Monts  had  spent,  with  an  outlay 
of  more  than  100,000  livres.^  In  the  first 
of  these  three  years  he  suffered  a  great  deal 
and  endured  great  distress  on  account  of  the 
severe  cold  and  the  long  duration  of  snow 
three  feet  deep,  for  five  months;  although 
at  any  time  one  could  reach  the  shores, 
where  the  sea  does  not  freeze,  except  at 
the  mouth  of  rivers,  which  are  clogged 
with  ice  making  its  way  to  the  sea. 
Besides,  almost  half  of  his  men  died 
from  the  disease  of  the  country,^  and 
he  was  obliged  to  send  the  remainder 
of  his  men  back  with  Sieur  de  Poutrin- 
court,  who  was  his  lieutenant  that  year, 
Pont  Grave  having  been  it  the  year  before. 

'The  King's  minister,  Sully,  revoked  the  patent 
in  July,  1607.  For  fuller  details  see  H.  F.  Biggar, 
The  Early  Trading  Companies  of  New  France, 
63-64. 

*The  livre,  at  this  time,  contained  about  as  much 
silver  as  two  francs,  and  its  purchasing  value  was 
equal,  approximately,  to  about  six  francs  to-day, 
or  $1.20.  Perkins,  France  Under  Richelieu  and 
Mazarin,  II,  371.  ^Scurvy. 

62 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

These  are  the  plans  of  Sieur  de  Monts 
which  were  broken  up.  He  promised  to  go 
farther  south  to  make  a  settlement  that 
should  be  healthier  and  milder  than  the  Isl- 
and of  St.  Croix,  where  he  had  spent  the 
winter.  Since  that  time  some  people  have 
been  at  Port  Royal/*^  where  they  liked  it 
better,  because  they  did  not  find  the  win- 
ter so  harsh  in  latitude  45°.  To  recompense 
these  losses,  6000  livres  were  ordered  given 
him  by  the  Council  of  His  Majesty,  to  be 
taken  from  the  ships  that  were  going  to 
trade  for  furs. 

But  to  what  expense  would  he  have  had 
to  be  put  in  all  the  ports  and  harbors  to 
collect  this  sum,  to  find  out  who  had  traded, 
and  the  right  proportion  to  be  levied  on  over 
eighty  ships  which  frequent  these  shores? 
It  was  giving  him  an  endless  task,  necessi- 
tating an  expense  in  excess  of  the  receipts, 
as  he  well  perceived.  For  Sieur  de  Monts 
got  almost  nothing  out  of  it,  and  was 
obliged  to  let  this  decree  go  as  he  could. 
This  was  how  these  matters  were  managed 
by  His  Majesty's  Council.  God  pardon 
those  whom  He  has  called,  and  improve 
those  who  are  living !  Heavens !  what  fur- 
ther enterprise  could  any  one  risk,  when 
everything  is  revoked  in  this  way,  without 
"Annapolis  Basin,  Nova  Scotia. 

63 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

judging  maturely  of  things,  before  any  re- 
sults can  be  forthcoming?  Those  who  have 
the  least  knowledge  make  the  most  com- 
plaint and  wish  to  be  thought  to  know 
more  than  those  who  have  full  experi- 
ence; and  they  speak  only  from  envy,  or 
for  their  own  interest,  on  false  reports  and 
appearances,  without  informing  themselves 
further. 

There  is  something  to  find  fault  with  in 
this  undertaking :  namely,  two  opposing  re- 
ligions never  produce  great  results  for  the 
glory  of  God  among  the  infidels,  whom  one 
wishes  to  convert.  I  have  seen  the  minister 
and  our  cure  come  to  blows  in  a  religious 
quarrel.  I  do  not  know  which  was  the  more 
courageous,  or  which  gave  the  better  blow, 
but  I  know  very  well  that  the  minister  com- 
plained sometimes  to  Sieur  de  Monts  of 
having  been  beaten,  and  they  ended  the  con- 
troversy in  this  way.  I  will  leave  you  to 
judge  if  it  was  a  pleasant  sight;  the  sav- 
ages were  sometimes  on  one  side,  sometimes 
on  the  other,  and  the  French  mixed  in  ac- 
cording to  their  respective  beliefs,  and  re- 
viled first  one  and  then  the  other  religion,  al- 
though Sieur  de  Monts  made  peace  as  much 
as  he  could.  These  insults  were  really  a 
means  to  the  infidel  of  making  him  still 
more  hardened  in  his  infidelity. 

64 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

Now,  since  Sieur  de  Monts  did  not  wish 
to  go  to  live  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River, 
he  ought  to  have  sent  some  one  to  explore 
a  place  suitable  for  the  foundation  of  a  col- 
ony, which  would  not  be  liable  to  be  aban- 
doned like  that  of  St.  Croix,  and  Port 
Royal,  where  no  one  knew  the  place;  and 
he  ought  to  have  expended  from  four  to 
five  thousand  livres,  so  as  to  be  sure  of  the 
place,  and  even  to  have  had  some  one  pass 
a  winter  there,  in  order  to  get  acquainted 
with  the  climate.  If  that  had  been  done, 
there  is  no  doubt  at  all  that  the  soil,  and 
the  warmth  such  as  would  have  been  found 
in  a  good  climate,  would  have  induced  the 
settlers  to  stay  there.  x\nd  even  if  Sieur  de 
Monts's  commission  had  been  revoked  they 
would  not  have  given  up  living  in  the  coun- 
try within  three  years  and  a  half,  as  was 
done  in  Acadie,  but  enough  ground  would 
have  been  cleared  to  enable  them  to  send 
commodities  to  France.  If  these  matters 
had  been  well  managed,  little  by  little  we 
should  have  adapted  ourselves  to  the  situ- 
ation, and  the  English  and  the  Flemish 
would  not  have  got  the  benefit  of  places 
that  they  took  from  us,  where  they  have 
settled  to  our  loss.^^ 

It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  gratify  the 
"Champlain  refers  to  the  English  settlements  in 

6s 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

curious  reader,  and  especially  those  who 
make  sea  voyages,  with  a  description  of  the 
discoveries  of  these  coasts  during  three 
years  and  a  half  while  I  was  in  Acadie, 
both  at  the  settlement  at  St.  Croix,  and  at 
Port  Royal,  when  I  had  opportunity  to  see 
and  discover  everything,  as  will  be  seen  in. 
the  following  book. 


BOOK   II 

CHAPTER    I 

Description  of  la  Heve.  Of  Port  Mouton.  Of 
Cape  Negro.  Of  the  Cape  Sable  and  Sable  Bay. 
Of  Cormorant  Island.  Of  Cape  Fourchu.  Of  Long 
Island.  Of  Bay  Saint  Mary.  Of  Port  Saint  Mar- 
garet, and  of  all  the  remarkable  things  that  there 
are  along  the  coast  of  Acadie. 

Cape  la  Heve^  is  a  place  where  there  is 
a  bay  containing  several  islands  covered 
with  firs,  and  a  great  tract  of  oaks,  young 
elms  and  birches.  It  is  on  the  coast  of 
Acadie,  in  latitude  44°  5',  and  the  declina- 

New   England   and  to   the  Dutch  occupation   of 
New  Netherland. 

^Cape  La  Have,  some  twenty  miles  west  of  Lun- 
enburg, Nova  Scotia. 

66 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

tion  of  the  compass  was  16*'  15V*  75 
leagues  northeast  of  Cape  Breton. 

Seven  leagues  from  this  cape  is  another 
called  Port  Mouton^,  where  are  two  little 
rivers  in  latitude  44  degrees  and  some  min- 
utes, where  the  soil  is  very  stony  and  filled 
with  undergrowth  and  heather.  There  are 
a  great  many  rabbits  there,  and  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  game,  because  of  the  ponds 
which  are  there. 

Going  along  the  coast  one  sees  a  very 
good  harbor  for  vessels,  and  in  the  interior 
a  little  river,  which  goes  pretty  far  into  the 
land.  I  named  it  the  harbor  of  Cape  Ne- 
gro,^ because  of  a  rock  which,  from  a  dis- 
tance, resembles  one.  It  rises  above  the  wa- 
ter near  a  cape  where  we  went  the  same 
day,  which  is  four  leagues  from  it,  and 
ten    leagues    from    Port    Mouton.      This 

^*Before  the  invention  of  the  chronometer  the 
exact  determination  of  longitude  was  impossible. 
Champlain  adopted  the  method  of  determining  lo- 
cation by  giving  the  latitude  and  indicating  the 
declination  of  the  needle  from  the  true  north.  It 
was  supposed  that  in  this  way  the  longitude  could 
be  determined  approximately.  Champlain's  ex- 
planation of  his  system  and  his  method  of  draw- 
ing his  maps  will  be  found  in  Voyages  of  Cham- 
plain,  Prince  Society  edition,  III,  219-224,  and  in 
Laverdiere,  Voyages,  1613,  p.  270,  ff. 

^The  name  is  still  in  use. 

*Negro  Harbour. 

67 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

cape  is  very  dangerous,  on  account  of 
the  rocks  which  project  into  the  sea.  The 
coasts  that  I  saw  up  to  that  point  are  all 
low,  covered  with  the  same  wood  as  that 
at  Cape  la  Heve,  and  the  islands  are  all 
full  of  game.  Going  along  farther  we 
passed  the  night  at  Sable  Bay,  where  the 
ships  can  anchor,  without  any  fear  of 
danger.  ' 

Cape  Sable,  two  good  leagues  from  Sable 
Bay,  is  also  very  dangerous,  on  account  of 
certain  rocks  and  reefs  that  extend  almost 
a  league  into  the  sea.  From  there  one  goes 
to  Cormorant  Island,  which  is  a  league 
from  it,  so  named  because  of  the  infinite 
number  of  these  birds  that  are  on  it;  and 
we  filled  a  large  barrel  with  their  eggs. 
From  this  island,  going  west  about  six 
miles,  crossing  a  bay  which  runs  up  two  or 
three  leagues  to  the  north,  one  comes  upon 
several  islands  that  project  two  or  three 
leagues  into  the  sea,  of  which  the  area  of 
some  is  perhaps  two,  of  others  three 
leagues,  and  of  others  less,  as  far  as  I  could 
judge.  Most  of  them  are  very  dangerous 
to  approach  in  large  vessels,  on  account  of 
the  high  tides  and  the  rocks  which  are  on 
a  level  with  the  water.  These  islands  are 
covered  wi^h  nine  trees,  firs,  birches  and  as- 
pens. A  little  farther  on  there  are  four  more. 

68 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

On  one  of  them  there  are  so  many  of  the 
birds  called  penguins  that  one  can  easily 
kill  them  with  a  stick.  On  another  there 
are  sea  wolves.*  On  two  others  there  is 
such  a  quantity  of  birds  of  different  varie- 
ties that  one  who  had  not  seen  them  could 
not  imagine  them,  such  as  cormorants, 
ducks  of  three  kinds,  geese,  marmettes,^ 
bustards,  sea  parrots,  snipe,  vultures,  and 
other  birds  of  prey;  sea  gulls,  dunlins  of 
two  or  three  species ;  herons,  large  sea  gulls, 
curlews,  sea  pyes,  divers,  ospreys,  appoils, 
crows,  cranes,  and  other  kinds,  which  make 
their  ne%ts  there.  I  named  them  Seal  Isl- 
ands.^ They  are  in  latitude  43^°,  distant 
from  the  mainland,  or  Cape  Sable,  four  or 
five  leagues.  From  there  we  went  to  a  cape 
that  I  called  Forked  Harbor,"^  since  such 
was  its  shape,  distant  from  the  Seal  Islands 

*Seals.  Commonly  called  sea  wolves  by  the  early 
navigators.  Slafter.  Loup  marin  will,  after  this, 
be  rendered  "seals"  in  this  translation. 

"This  word  is  not  given  in  the  dictionaries.  In 
many  cases  the  identification  of  animals  and  birds 
and  plants  mentioned  by  the  early  explorers  is 
very  difficult  and  requires  the  expert  knowledge 
of  the  naturalist,  American  fauna  and  flora  were 
generally  given  the  names  of  those  European 
fauna  and  flora  which  they  most  resembled. 

''The  name  is  still  in  use. 

''Port  Fourchu.  The  name  survives  in  Cape 
Fourchu.     It  is  just  west  of  Yarmouth. 

69 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

of  seals  from  five  to  six  leagues.  This  har- 
bor is  very  good  for  ships  at  the  entrance, 
but  inside  it  is  almost  entirely  dry  at  low 
tide,  except  the  channel  of  a  little  river,  all 
surrounded  by  meadows  which  make  this 
place  rather  pleasant.  Cod  fishing  is  good 
there  near  the  harbor.  We  went  north  ten  or 
twelve  leagues  without  finding  any  harbor 
for  our  ships,  only  a  number  of  coves,  or 
very  fine  beaches,  where  the  land  seemed 
suitable  for  cultivation.  The  woods  there  are 
very  beautiful,  but  they  contain  very  few 
pines  and  firs.  This  coast  is  very  safe,  with- 
out islands,  rocks,  or  shallows;  so  that,  in 
my  judgment,  ships  can  go  there  with  confi- 
dence. A  quarter  of  a  league  from  the  coast 
I  came  to  an  island,  which  is  called  Long 
Island,  lying  north  northeast  and  south 
southwest,  which  makes  a  passage  to  the 
Great  French  Bay,^  so  named  by  De  Monts. 
This  island  is  six  leagues  long,  and  in 
some  places  nearly  one  league  wide,  and  in 
other  places  only  a  quarter  of  a  league.  It 
is  covered  with  a  quantity  of  wood,  such 
as  pines  and  birches.  The  whole  coast  is 
bordered  with  very  dangerous  rocks,  and 
there  is  no  place  suitable  for  ships,  except 
that  at  the  end  of  the  island  there  are  sev- 
eral refuges  for  shallops,  and  two  or  three 

'The  Bay  of  Fundy. 

70 


I 

SAMUEL    DE    CHAMPLAIN 

rocky  islands,  where  the  savages  hunt  seals. 
The  tides  run  very  high  there,  particularly 
at  the  little  passage  of  the  island,  which  is 
very  dangerous  for  vessels,  if  they  venture 
going  through  it. 

Going  northeast    two  leagues   from  the 
passage  of  Long  Island,  one  finds  a  cove 
where  ships  can  anchor  in  safety.     It  is  a 
quarter  of  a  league  in  circumference.     Its 
bottom  is  nothing  but  mud,  and  the  land 
surrounding  it  is  all  bordered  with  rather 
high  rocks.     In  this  place,  according  to  the 
report  of  a  miner,  called    Master   Simon, 
who  was  with  me,  there  is  a  very  good  sil- 
ver mine.^    Some  leagues  farther  there  is  a 
little  river,  called  the  Boulay,'''  where  the 
tide  comes  half  a  league  inland,  at  the  en- 
trance of  which  one  can  easily  anchor  ships 
of  a  hundred  tons  burden.    A  quarter  of  a 
league  from  this  place  there  is  a  good  har- 
bor  for  vessels  where  we  found    an  iron 
mine,  which  the  miner  thought  yielded  fifty 
per  cent.     Sailing  three  leagues  farther  to 
the  northeast,  one  comes  upon  another  ra- 
ther good  iron  mine,  near  which  there  is  a 
river   surrounded  by  fine,   pleasant  mead- 
ows.   The  soil  round    about  is  as  red  as 
blood.    Some  leagues  farther  along  there  is 

"Little  River  on  Digby  Neck.    Slafter. 
*°Sandy  Cove. 

71 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

another  river  which  is  dry  at  low  tide,  ex- 
cept its  channel,  which  is  very  small.^^  This 
runs  near  Port  Royal.  At  the  upper  end 
of  this  bay  there  is  a  channel  which  is  also 
dry  at  low  tide.  About  it  are  a  number  of 
fields  and  good  lands  to  cultivate,  although 
covered  with  a  quantity  of  beautiful  trees 
of  all  kinds,  as  I  have  said  above.  This 
bay,  from  Long  Island  to  the  upper  end, 
may  extend  about  six  leagues.  All  the  coast 
of  the  mines  is  rather  high  ground,  inter- 
sected by  capes,  which  appear  round  and 
project  a  little  into  the  sea.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  bay,  to  the  southeast,  the  land 
is  low  and  good,  and  there  is  a  very  good 
harbor,  and  at  its  entrance  a  bar  over  which 
one  must  go,  where,  at  low  tide,  the  water 
is  a  fathom  and  a  half  deep.  When  one  has 
passed  this  he  finds  three  fathoms  and  a 
good  bottom.  Between  the  two  points  of 
the  harbor  there  is  a  pebbly  island  which  is 
covered  at  high  tide.  This  place  extends 
half  a  league  into  the  land.  The  tide  there 
goes  down  three  fathoms,  and  there  are 
quantities  of  shellfish  there,  such  as  mus- 
sels, snails  and  cockles.  The  soil  is  the  best 
that  I  have  seen.    I  called  this  harbor  the 

""South  Creek,  or  Smelt  River, which  rises  near 
Annapolis  Basin,  or  the  Port  Royal  Basin  of  the 
French."    Slafter. 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

harbor  of  Saint  Margaret.^-  All  this  south- 
east coast  is  much  lower  land  than  that  of 
the  mines,  which  are  only  a  league  and  a 
half  from  the  coast  of  Port  Saint  Margaret, 
the  width  of  the  bay,  which  is  three  leagues 
at  its  entrance.  I  measured  the  altitude  at 
this  place,  and  I  found  it  was  in  latitude 
45 J  °  and  a  little  more,  and  the  declination 
of  the  needle  was  17°  16'.  This  bay  was 
named  Saint  Mary  Bay. 


CHAPTER    II 

Description  of  Port  Royal,  and  its  peculiarities. 
Of  High  Island.  Of  the  Harbor  of  Mines.  Of  the 
Great  French  Bay.  Of  the  River  Saint  John,  and 
what  we  have  noticed  between  the  Harbor  of 
Mines  and  this  place.  Of  the  Island  called  by  the 
savages  Manthane.  Of  the  Etechemins  River,  and 
several  beautiful  islands  in  it.  Of  Saint  Croix 
Island,  and  other  conspicuous  things  on  this 
shore. 

Passing^  Long  Island,  with  the  cape  six 
leagues  to  the  northeast,  one  comes  to  a 
cove  where  ships  can  drop  anchor  in  4,  5, 

"Weymouth  Harbour. 

^This  chapter  begins  another  exploring  trip,  and 
the  narrative  is  taken  up  at  the  farthest  point 
reached  in  the  earlier  exploration.  For  the  inter- 
mediate events  see  Voyages  of  Champlam,  Prince 
Society  edition,  II,  18-21. 

73 


VOYAGES.  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

6  and  7  fathoms  of  water.  The  bottom  is 
sand.  This  place  serves  only  as  a  road- 
stead. Continuing  two  leagues  in  the  same 
direction  we  enter  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful harbors  in  this  whole  coast,  where  a 
great  number  of  ships  could  go  in  safety. 
Tlie  mouth  is  800  paces  wide  and  25 
fathoms  deep;  it  is  two  leagues  long  and 
one  league  wide.  I  named  it  Port  Royal.- 
Three  rivers  empty  into  it,  one  of  which  is 
rather  large.  It  comes  from  the  east,  and  is 
called  the  River  Esquille,  the  name  of  a  lit- 
tle fish  the  size  of  a  smelt  which  it  yields  in 
great  quantity.  Herring  are  also  caught 
there,  and  other  kinds  of  fish  of  which  there 
is  an  abundance  in  their  season.  Tliis  river 
is  almost  a  quarter  of  a  league  wide  at  the 
mouth,  where  there  is  an  island,  perhaps 
half  a  league  in  circumference,  covered 
with  wood^  like  all  the  rest  of  the  land, 
such  as  pines,  firs,  spruces,  birches,  aspens, 
and  some  oaks,  though  comparatively  few. 
This  river  has  two  mouths,  one  on  the  north 
shore,  the  other  on  the  south  of  the  island. 
That  on  the  north  is  the  better.  There  ships 
can  drop  anchor  in  the  shelter  of  the  isl- 
and in  5,  6,  7  and  8  fathoms  of  water.  But 
one  must  guard  against  certain  shallows 
near  the  island  and  the  mainland,  which 
"Annapolis  Basin. 

74 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

are  very  dangerous  if  one  does  not  know 
the  channel. 

I  went  14  or  15  leagues  up  the  river, 
where  the  tide  rises,  and  it  is  not  naviga- 
ble much  farther  inland.  At  this  place  it 
is  60  paces  wide  and  about  ij  fathoms  deep. 
The  land  about  this  river  is  covered  with 
a  great  number  of  oak,  ash  and  other  trees. 
Between  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  the 
place  where  we  were,  there  are  many  mead- 
ows, but  they  are  flooded  by  the  high  tides. 
They  are  crossed  by  many  little  brooks,  on 
which  shallops  and  boats  can  go  in  high  wa- 
ter. Within  the  harbor  there  is  another  isl- 
and, nearly  two  leagues  away  from  the  first, 
where  there  is  another  little  river  which 
runs  a  good  way  inland.  I  named  this  one 
the  River  St.  Anthony.^  Its  mouth  is  about 
four  leagues  across  the  woods  from  the  end 
of  Saint  Mary  Bay.  As  for  the  other  river, 
it  is  only  a  brook  filled  with  rocks,  which 
one  could  not  ascend  in  any  way  whatever, 
for  lack  of  water.*  This  place  is  in  latitude 
45**,  and  the  declination  of  the  needle  is 
17"  8'. 

Leaving  Port  Royal  and  going  8  or  10 
leagues  to  the  northeast  of  the  cape,  along 

'Bear  River. 

^Sometimes  called  Moose  River  and  sometimes 
Deep  Brook.    Slafter. 

75 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

the  coast  of  Port  Royal,  I  crossed  a  part  of 
the  bay,  some  5  or  6  leagues,  to  a  place 
that  I  named  the  Cape  of  Two  Bays,^  and 
passed  by  an  island  which  is  one  league 
from  it  and  is  also  one  league  in  circum- 
ference. It  rises  some  40  or  45  fathoms 
in  height  and  is  all  surrounded  by  great 
rocks ;  except  in  one  place,  where  there  is 
a  slope,  with  a  salt-water  pond  at  the  foot. 
The  water  comes  in  below  a  pebbly  point  in 
the  form  of  a  spur.  The  top  of  the  island  is 
flat,  covered  with  trees,  and  it  has  a  very 
beautiful  spring.  In  this  place  there  is  a 
copper  mine.  From  there  I  went  to  a  har- 
bor a  league  and  a  half  from  it,  where 
there  is  also  a  copper  mine.  This  harbor 
is  in  latitude  45  2-3  degrees.  It  is  dry  at 
low  tide.  To  enter,  it  is  necessary  to  place 
buoys  and  to  mark  the  sand  bar  at  the 
mouth,  which  extends  along  a  channel  par- 
allel with  the  mainland  on  the  other  side. 
Then  one  enters  a  bay,  which  is  almost  a 
league  long  and  half  a  league  wide.  In  some 
places  the  bottom  is  muddy  and  sandy,  and 
vessels  can  run  aground  there.  The  sea 
there  rises  and  falls  from  four  to  five 
fathoms.  This  Cape  of  Two  Bays,  where 
the  harbor  of  mines  is  situated,  is  so  called 
because  to  the  north  and  the  south  of  the 
''Cape  Chignecto. 

76 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

cape  there  are  two  bays  which  run  up  east 
northeast  and  northeast  some  12  to  15 
leagues;^  and  there  is  a  strait  at  the  open- 
ing of  each  bay  not  more  than  half  a  league 
wide.  Beyond  the  strait  it  suddenly  widens 
to  about  3,  4  or  5  leagues.^  There  are  also 
several  islands  in  this  bay,  where  there  are 
ponds,  and  two  or  three  little  rivers  which 
flow  into  it,  by  which  the  savages  go  in 
their  canoes  to  Tregate,  and  to  Misamichy 
in  the  Gulf  of  Saint  Lawrence,  partly  by 
water,  partly  by  land. 

All  the  country  that  I  saw  after  the  little 
passage  on  Long  Island,  sailing  along  the 
coast,  is  nothing  but  rocks,  with  no  place 
where  ships  could  go  in  safety,  except  Port 
Royal.  The  country  is  covered  with  a  quan- 
tity of  pines  and  birches,  and,  in  my  opin- 
ion, it  is  not  especially  fertile. 

We  went  west  two  leagues  to  the  Cape 
of  Two  Bays,  then  north  five  or  six  leagues 
and  crossed  the  other  bay.®  Going  west 
some  six  leagues  one  finds  a  little  river/^ 
at  the  mouth  of  which  is  a  rather  low  cape, 
which  projects  into  the  sea;  and  somewhat 
inland  a  mountain  the  shape  of  a  Cardinal's 

'Chignecto  Bay  and  Basin  of  Mines. 
'That  is,  Chignecto  Bay. 
"Chignecto  Bay. 
"Quaco  River. 

17 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

hat.^^  In  this  place  there  is  an  iron  mine, 
and  there  is  no  anchorage,  except  for  shal- 
lops. Four  leagues  west  southwest  there  is 
a  rocky  point/^  which  projects  a  little  sea- 
ward, where  there  are  very  great  tides 
which  are  very  dangerous.  Near  this  point 
there  is  a  cove  about  half  a  league  in  cir- 
cumference, in  which  there  is  a  very  good 
iron  mine.  Four  leagues  farther  along 
there  is  a  beautiful  bay,  which  cuts  into  the 
land  and  has  within  it  three  islands  and  a 
rock.  Two  of  the  islands  are  one  league 
west  of  the  cape,^^  and  the  other  is  at  the 
mouth  of  one  of  the  largest,  deepest  rivers 
that  I  had  yet  seen,  which  I  called  the  River 
Saint  John,  because  it  was  on  that  day  that 
I  arrived  there,^''  and  which  is  called  by  the 
savages  Ouygoudy.^^  This  river  is  danger- 
ous, if  one  is  fiot  familiar  with  certain 
points  and  rocks  on  both  banks.  It  is  nar- 
row at  its  mouth,  then  begins  to  widen  and, 
having  doubled  its  swiftness,  narrows  once 

^^Porcupine  Mountain.  Ganong.  Notes  from  Ga- 
nong  will,  henceforth,  be  marked  G. 

"McCoy's  Head,  G. 

"Negro  Head,  G. 

"June  24,  St.  John's  Day. 

"In  all  probability  a  mistake.  Ouygoudy  was 
the  name  the  Indians  gave  to  their  camping- 
ground  on  Navy  Island,  G. 

78 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

more  and  makes  a  sort  of  fall  between  two 
big  rocks,  where  the  water  flows  with  such 
rapidity  that  if  one  throw  a  piece  of  wood 
into  it,  it  is  sucked  to  the  bottom  and  one 
sees  it  no  more ;  but,  by  waiting  for  high 
tide^^  one  can  go  through  this  strait  easily, 
and  then  it  widens  to  about  a  league  in  some 
places,  and  contains  three  islands,  on  which 
there  are  a  great  many  meadows  and  beau- 
tiful trees,  such  as  oaks,  beeches,  walnuts,^'^ 
and  wild  grapevines.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  country  go  by  this  river  as  far  as  Ta- 
doussac,  which  is  on  the  great  River  Saint 
Lawrence,  and  cross  but  little  land  to  get 
there.  It  is  65  leagues  from  the  River  St. 
John  to  Tadoussac.  At  its  mouth,  which  is 
in  latitude  45  2-3  degrees,  there  is  an  iron 
mine.  Shallops  cannot  go  more  than  fifteen 
leagues  in  this  river,  because  of  the  rapids, 
w^hich  can  be  navigated  only  by  using  the 
canoes  of  the  savages. 

From  the  River  St.  John  I  went  to  four 
islands,  on  one  of  which  was  a  great  quan- 
tity of  birds  called  magpies.  Their  young 
are  as  good  as  young  pigeons.  This  island 
is  three  leagues  from  the  mainland.  Far- 
ther wxst  there  are  other  islands :  among 

^*It  is  passable  only  at  half  tide,  G. 
^'Professor  Ganong  believes  that  noycrs  means 
butternuts  here. 

79 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

them  one  having  an  area  of  six  leagues, 
which  is  called  by  the  savages  Menane.^^ 
At  the  south  of  this  there  are,  among  the 
islands,  several  harbors  suitable  for  ships. 
From  the  iNIagpie  Islands  I  went  to  a  river 
in  the  mainland  called  the  River  of  the 
Etechemins,  from  a  tribe  of  savages  so 
called  in  their  country,  and  we  passed  by 
such  a  number  of  beautiful  islands  that  I 
could  not  count  them.  Some  had  an  area 
of  two  leagues,  some  three,  others  more  or 
less.  They  are  all  in  a  bay,^^  in  my  judg- 
ment of  more  than  fifteen  leagues  in  cir- 
cumference, with  several  good  places  for  as 
many  ships  as  one  would  wish.  Round 
about  there  is  good  fishing:  cod,  salmon, 
bass,  herring,  halibut  and  other  fishes  in 
great  number.  Going  west  northwest,  three 
leagues  past  the  islands,  one  enters  a  river, 
almost  half  a  league  wide  at  its  mouth,^*^  in 
which  there  are  two  islands  one  or  two 
leaj^ues  further  up:  one  very  small,^^  near 
the  mainland  on  the  west;  and  the  other  in 

"Grand  Manan.  Champlain  used  the  form  Man- 
thane  in  his  first  account  (1613),  and  that  name 
is  given  in  the  heading  to  this  chapter.  Laverdiere 
says  that  Menane  is  the  true  name. 

"Passamaquoddy  Bay. 

^St.  Croix,  G. 

-'Little  Dochet  (pronounced  "Doshay"),  G. 
80 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

the  middle.^^  The  latter  has  a  circumfer- 
ence of  eight  or  nine  hundred  paces  and 
rises  out  of  the  water  three  or  four  fathoms 
high,  with  rocky  sides,  except  in  one  small 
place  where  there  is  a  little  point  of  sand 
and  clayey  soil,  useful  for  making  bricks 
and  other  necessary  things.  There  is  an- 
other sheltered  place  for  ships  of  from 
eighty  to  a  hundred  tons,  but  it  is  dry  at 
low  tide.  The  island  is  covered  with  firs, 
birches,  maples  and  oaks.  It  is  in  itself  a 
very  good  site,  and  there  is  but  one  stretch 
of  about  forty  paces  where  its  sides  are 
lower,  and  that  is  easy  to  fortify.  The 
shores  of  the  mainland  being  distant  from 
each  other  on  both  sides  from  about  nine 
hundred  to  a  thousand  paces,  ships  could 
not  pass  up  the  river  without  being  at  the 
mercy  of  the  cannon  from  the  island,  which 
is  the  place  that  we  believed  to  be  the  best, 
whether  for  situation,  the  excellence  of  the 
soil,  or  for  such  intercourse  as  it  is  pro- 
posed to  have  with  the  savages  of  these 
shores  and  inland.  For  it  is  in  the  midst  of 
those  whom  we  hope  to  pacify  in  time, 
abolishing  the  wars  that  they  have  with  one 
another,  in  order  both  to  obtain  service 
from  them  and  to  convert  them  to  the 
Christian  faith.    This  place  was  named,  by; 

"Dochet,  G. 

8l 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

De  Monts,  St.  Croix  Island.-^  Going  farther 
up,  one  sees  a  large  bay,-*  in  which  there 
are  two  islands — one  high,  the  other  flat — 
and  three  rivers,  two  of  medium  size,  o£ 
which  one  flows  in  from  the  east  and  the 
other  from  the  north,  and  the  third,  a  large 
one,  flowing  in  from  the  west:^^  that  is  the 
River  of  the  Etechemins.  Two  leagues  up 
this  there  is  a  rapid,  where  the  savages 
carry  their  canoes  on  the  land  about  500 
paces.  Then  they  enter  the  river  again. 
From  there,  after  crossing  a  bit  of  land, 
one  comes  to  the  River  Norembegue,^^  and 
the  St.  John.  The  place  where  the  rapid 
is  ships  cannot  get  through,  on  account  of 
its  being  nothing  but  rocks,  and  of  there 
being  only  four  or  five  feet  of  water.  In 
May  and  June  there  are  such  big  catches  of 
herring  and  bass  that  one  could  load  boats 
there  with  them.  The  soil  is  of  the  finest, 
and  there  are  15  or  20  acres  of  cleared  land. 
The  savages  sometimes  go  there  five  or  six 

*^For  a  most  complete  study  of  St.  Croix  Island 
and  the  part  it  played  in  diplomatic  controversy 
see  W.  F.  Ganong,  Docket  (St.  Croix)  Island, 
Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Canada,  2d 
scries,  vol.  viii,  sect.  4,  127-231.  This  monograph 
is  fully  illustrated  with  maps,  plans  and  photo- 
graphs. 

^Oak  Bay,  G.  ''The  St.  Croix. 

^Norumbega,  The  Penobscot. 
82 


SAMUEL    DE    CHAMPLAIN 

weeks  during  the  fishing  season.  All  the 
rest  of  the  country  is  covered  with  very 
thick  forests.  If  the  land  were  cleared, 
grain  would  grow  very  well.  This  place  is 
in  latitude  45  1-3  degrees,  and  the  variation 
of  the  needle  is  17°  32'.  A  settlement  was 
made  in  this  place  in  the  year  1604.^^ 

CHAPTER    III 

Of  the  coast,  peoples,  and  river  of  Norem- 
begue. 

Continuing^  from  the  St.  Croix  River 
along  the  coast  about  25  leagues,  we  passed 
a  great  quantity  of  islands,  banks,  reefs  and 
rocks,  which  project  more  than  four  leagues 
into  the  sea  in  some  places.  I  called  them 
the  Ranges.  Most  of  them  are  covered 
with  pines  and  firs,  and  other  poor  kinds  of 
wood.  Among  these  islands  there  are  a 
great  many  good,  fine  harbors,  but  they  are 
not  attractive.  I  went  near  an  island  about 
four  or  five  leagues  long.  The  distance 
from  this  island  to  the  mainland  on  the 

^Champlain,  in  this  narrative,  omits  the  story 
of  the  establishment  of  this  settlement.  For  it  see 
Voyages  of  Champlaiti,  Prince  Society  Ed.,  II, 
34-38. 

^This  exploring  trip  was  begun  Sept.  2,  1604. 
Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  38. 

83 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

north  is  not  a  hundred  paces.  It  is  very 
high  with  notches  here  and  there,  so  that  it 
appears,  when  one  is  at  sea,  Hke  seven  or 
eight  mountains  rising  close  together.  The 
tops  of  most  of  them  are  without  trees,  be- 
cause they  are  nothing  but  rock.  The  only 
trees  are  pines,  firs  and  birches.  I  called 
it  the  Island  of  the  Desert  Mountains. ^  It 
is  in  latitude  444*^. 

The  savages  of  this  place,  having  made 
an  alliance  with  us,  guided  us  on  the  Pe- 
metegoit  River,^  so  called  by  them,  and  told 
us  that  their  captain,  named  Bessabez,  was 
the  chief  of  the  river.  I  think  that  this 
river  is  the  one  which  several  pilots  and 
historians  call  Norembegue,  and  which 
most  of  them  have  described  as  large  and 
spacious,  with  a  great  number  of  islands, 
and  having  its  mouth  in  latitude  43°  and 
43 J°,  and  others  in  latitude  44°,  more  or 
less.*  As  for  the  variation  of  the  needle  I 
never    have     read    anything   about    it,    or 

^Isle  des  Monts  Deserts.  Mount  Desert  Island. 
It  was  discovered  Sept.  5,  1604. 

'The  Penobscot,  Sept.  7.  The  name  Penobscot 
is  a  corruption  of  one  of  the  Indian  names,  for 
which  see  Slafter  in  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  40, 
and  Laverdiere,  CEuvres  de  Champlain,  Voyage 
de  J613,  31. 

^Actually  a  little  over  44°.  The  text  follows  here 
the  reading  of  the  1613  text. 

84 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

heard  any  one  speak  of  it.  It  has  been 
said  also  that  there  is  a  large  city,  well 
populated  with  savages  who  are  skillful 
and  expert  making  use  of  cotton  thread.  I 
am  confident  that  most  of  those  who  men- 
tion them  did  not  see  them,  and  speak  from 
what  they  heard  from  those  who  knew  no 
more  about  them  than  they  did.^  I  know 
very  well  that  there  are  some  people  who 
may  have  seen  the  mouth  of  it,  because,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  there  are  a  quantity  of  isl- 
ands, and  it  is  in  latitude  44°,  at  its  mouth, 
as  they  say.  But  there  is  nothing  to  show 
that  any  one  ever  entered  it,  for  they  would 
have  described  it  in  a  different  way,  so  that 
so  many  people  would  not  doubt  it.  I  shall 
state,  then,  what  I  discovered  and  saw  from 
the  beginning,  as  far  as  I  went. 

In  the  first  place,  at  its  mouth,  10  or  12 
leagues  from  the  mainland,  there  are  sev- 
eral islands,  which  are  in  latitude  44°,  and 
in  18°  40'  of  the  declination  of  the  needle. 
The  Island  of  Mount  Desert  makes  one  of 
the  points  at  its  mouth,  and  lies  toward  the 

'Champlain  probably  refers  to  the  account  of  the 
city  of  Norumbega,  which  was  contained  in  His- 
toire  Universelle  des  hides  Occidentales,  Douay, 
1607,  and  to  that  of  Jean  Alfonse.  Both  these  are 
quoted  and  refuted  by  Lescarbot,  Histoire  de  la 
Nouvelle  France,  ed.  Tross,  II,  470-473. 

8s 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

-east ;  and  the  other  is  low  land,  and  is  called 
by  the  savages  Bedabedec.^    It  is  west  of 
this,  and  they  are  nine  or  ten  leagues  apart ; 
and  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  sea  there 
is  another  island  which  is  so  high  and  strik- 
ing that  I  named  it  Isle  Haute."^    All  about 
there  is  an  infinite  number  of  them,  of  vary- 
ing sizes,  but  the  largest  is  that  of  Mount 
Desert.     The  fishing  for  different  kinds  of 
fish  is  very  good  there,  as  is  also  the  hunt- 
ing for  game.   Three  or  four  leagues  from 
the    point    of     Bedabedec,^    following    the 
mainland  to  the  north,  through  which  this 
river  flows,  are  some  very  high  hills  which, 
in  fine  weather,  can  be  seen  12  or  15  leagues 
out  at  sea.^   Proceeding  on  the  south  side  of 
Isle  Haute,  sailing  along  it  about  a  quarter 
of  a  league,  where    there  are  some  reefs 
which  are  out  of  the  water,  heading  to  the 
west  until  all  the  mountains  that  are  north 
of  this  island  are  opened  up,  you  can  feel 
sure  that  when  you  see  the  eight  or  nine 
summits  of  Mount  Desert  Island,  and  that 
of    Bedabedec,   you   will   be   opposite   the 
River  of  Norembegue.    In  order  to  go  into 
it,  it  is  necessary  to  head  the  ship  to  the 

'The    region    about    Rockland    and    Camden, 
Slafter. 

"The  name  is  still  used. 
*Owl's  Head.  'The  Camden  Hills. 

86 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAAIPLAIN 

north,  which  is  over  the  highest  mountains 
of  this  Bedabedec,  and  you  will  not  see  any 
islands  in  front  of  you;  and  you  can  enter 
safely,  with  plenty  of  water,  although  you 
see  a  quantity  of  breakers,  islands  and  rocks 
east  and  west  of  you.  You  must  avoid  them 
with  the  lead  in  hand;  and  I  think,  from 
what  I  have  been  able  to  judge,  that  one 
cannot  enter  this  river  at  any  other  place,, 
except  with  small  vessels  or  shallops ;  for 
(as  I  have  said  above)  the  quantity  of  isl- 
ands, rocks,  shallows,  banks  and  breakers 
is  such  everywhere  that  it  is  strange  to  see.. 

Now,  to  return  to  our  route,  at  tlie  en- 
trance of  the  river  there  are  some  beautiful 
islands  which  are  very  pleasant  like  mead- 
ows. I  vv^ent  as  far  as  a  place  to  which 
the  savages  guided  us,  where  it  is  not  more 
than  an  eighth  of  a  league  wide,  and  soma 
two  hundred  paces  from  the  land,  on  the 
west,  there  is  a  rock,  level  with  the  water,, 
which  is  dangerous. ^^  From  theie  to  Isle 
Haute  it  is  fifteen  leagues :  and  from  this 
narrow  place  (which  was  the  narrowest 
that  we  had  found),  after  making  about 
seven  or  eight  leagues,  we  came  upon  a  lit- 
tle river,  near  which  we  had  to  anchor,  in- 
asmuch as  in  front  of  us  we  saw  a  quan- 
tity of  rocks  visible  at  low  water;  and  also 

"Fort  Point  Ledge,  near  Castine. 

87 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

because,  if  we  had  wished  to  go  farther,  it 
would  have  been  impossible  to  make  half  a 
league,  on  account  of  a  waterfall  there, 
which  came  down  a  slope  seven  or  eight 
feet.  I  saw  it  from  a  canoe  with  the  sav- 
ages that  we  had  with  us,  and  found  only 
enough  water  there  for  a  canoe.  But  be- 
yond the  falls,  which  are  about  two  hun- 
dred paces  wide,  the  river  is  beautiful  and 
delightful  as  far  as  the  place  where  we  an- 
chored. I  went  ashore  to  see  the  country, 
and,  as  far  as  I  went,  going  hunting,  I 
found  it  pleasant  and  agreeable.  The  oaks 
there  seemed  to  have  been  planted  for 
pleasure.  I  saw  few  firs,  but  a  good  many 
pines  on  one  bank  of  the  river ;  on  the  other 
it  was  all  oaks,  and  a  little  brushwood 
which  spread  a  good  way  inland ;  and  I  will 
say  that  from  the  entrance  to  where  I  went, 
which  was  about  25  leagues,^^  I  did  not  see 
any  city,  or  village,  or  appearance  of  there 
having  been  any,  although  there  were  one 
or  two  cabins  of  the  savages,  with  no  one 
in  them,  which  were  made  in  the  same  way 
as  those  of  the  Souriquois,^^*  covered  with 
the  bark  of  trees;  and,  as  far  as  I  could 
judge,  there  are  not  many  savages  on  this 

"Champlain  went  up  to  the  present  site  of  Ban- 
gor. 
"*The  Micmacs  of  Nova  Scotia. 
88 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

river,  which  is  called  Pemetegoit.  They  do 
not  come  there  any  more  than  to  the  isl- 
ands except  some  months  in  summer,  dur- 
ing the  season  for  fishing  and  hunting, 
which  are  very  good  there.  They  are  a  peo- 
ple who  have  no  fixed  habitation,  as  far  as 
I  have  found  out  and  learned  from  them: 
for  they  winter  sometimes  in  one  place, 
sometimes  in  another,  where  they  see  that 
the  hunting  for  wild  beasts  is  better;  for 
they  live  from  it  as  necessity  compels,  with- 
out having  anything  in  reserve  for  times  of 
scarcity,  which  is  sometimes  very  great. 

Now,  this  river  must  necessarily  be  the 
Norembegue ;  for,  going  past  it  as  far  as 
latitude  41°,  to  which  I  coasted  along,  one 
sees  no  other  in  the  latitudes  above  men- 
tioned, except  that  of  the  Quinibequy,^^ 
which  is  almost  as  high  up,  but  not  of  so 
great  length.  On  the  other  hand,  there  can- 
not be  any  other  which  rises  far  inland,  in- 
asmuch as  the  great  River  Saint  Lawrence 
runs  along  the  coast  of  Acadie  and  of  No- 
rembegue, and  there  is  not  more  than  45 
leagues  of  land  between  them,  or  60  at  the 
widest  place  in  a  straight  line. 

Now  I  will  leave  this  discourse,  to  return 
to  the  savages  who  took  me  to  the  falls  of 
the  Norembegue  River.    They  went  to  in- 

"The  Kennebec. 

89 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

form  Bessabez,  their  chief,  and  other  sav- 
ages, who  went  on  another  Httle  river  to 
inform  theirs,  named  Cabahis,  and  tell  him 
of  our  arrival. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  the  month/^  about 
thirty  savages  came  to  us,  on  the  assurance 
of  those  who  had  served  us  as  guide.  This 
Bessabez  came  also  to  find  us  that  same 
day,  with  six  canoes.  As  soon  as  the  sav- 
ages who  were  on  land  saw  him  coming, 
they  all  fell  to  singing,  dancing  and  jump- 
ing until  he  was  ashore;  then  afterward 
they  all  sat  down  on  the  ground  in  a  circle, 
according  to  their  custom  when  they  wish 
to  make  a  speech,  or  have  a  feast.  Soon 
after  Cabahis,  the  other  chief,  arrived  also 
with  twenty  or  thirty  of  his  companions, 
who  withdrew  to  one  side  and  greatly  en- 
joyed looking  at  us,  for  it  was  the  first  time 
that  they  had  seen  Christians.  Some  time 
afterward  I  went  ashore  with  two  of  my 
companions  and  two  of  our  savages,  who 
served  us  as  interpreters,  and  ordered  those 
on  our  boat  to  approach  the  savages  and 
have  their  arms  ready  for  use  if  they  no- 
ticed any  movement  among  these  people 
against  us.  Bessabez,  seeing  us  ashore,  had 
us  sit  down,  and  began  to  smoke  with  his 
companions,  as  they  usually  do  before  mak- 

"September,  1604. 

90 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

ing  their  speeches,  and  made  us  presents  of 
venison  and  game/^  All  the  rest  of  the  day 
and  the  night  following,  they  did  nothing 
but  sing,  dance  and  make  good  cheer,  until 
the  dawn.  Then  each  one  returned,  Bessa- 
bez  with  his  companions  on  his  side,  and 
we  on  ours,  well  satisfied  at  having  made 
the  acquaintance  of  these  people. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  the  month  I  took 
the  altitude  and  found  the  latitude  was 
45°  25'.^*^  This  done  I  departed,  to  go  to 
another  river  called  Quinibequy,^^  35 
leagues  away  from  this  place  and  almost 
15  from  Bedabedec.  This  tribe  of  savages 
of  Quinibequy  is  called  Etechemins  as  well 
as  those  of  Norembegue. 

The  eighteenth  of  the  month  I  went  near 
a  little  river  where  Cabahis  was.  He  came 
with  us  in  our  boat  about  12  leagues.  I 
asked  him  where  the  River  Norembegue 
came  from,  and  he  told  me  that  it  comes 
from  beyond  the  fall  which  I  have  men- 
tioned above,  and  that  after  going  some  dis- 
tance on  it  one  enters  a  lake,  by  way  of 

"In  preparing  this  narrative  Champlain  omitted 
the  account  of  the  negotiations  given  in  the  nar- 
rative of  1613.  Voyage  de  1613,  36-37;  Voyages^ 
of  Champlain,  II,  46. 

"The  correct  latitude  should  have  been  44°  46'.  Sw 

"The  Kennebec. 

91 


'  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

which  they  go  to  the  St.  Croix  River,  a 
small  part  of  the  way  by  land;  then  they 
enter  the  Etechemins  River.^"  Besides,  an- 
other river  flows  into  the  lake,  and  on  it 
they  go  several  days,  and  then  enter  an- 
other lake,  and  they  go  through  the  middle 
of  this,  and,  when  they  reach  the  end,  they 
go  some  distance  by  land,  and  afterward  en- 
ter a  little  river  which  flows  into  the  great 
St.  Lawrence  River.^^  All  these  people 
of  Norembegue  are  very  tawny,  dressed  in 
beaver  skins  and  other  furs,  like  the  Cana- 
dian and  Souriquois^^  savages,  and  they 
have  the  same  way  of  living. 

This  is  an  exact  statement  of  all  that  I 
observed,  whether  of  the  coasts,  the  people, 
or  the  River  Norembegue,  and  not  of  the 
marvels  that  any  one  has  written  about 
them.  I  believe  that  this  place  is  as  agree- 
able in  winter  as  St.  Croix. 

"By  the  east  branch  of  the  Penobscot,  the  Mata- 
wamkeag  River. 

"By  the  Penobscot  to  the  northwest  through 
Lake  Pemadumcook,  and  next  through  Lake  Che- 
suncook,  etc.,  till  the  upper  waters  of  the  Chau- 
diere  were  reached.  Champlain  failed  to  under- 
stand that  the  lake  entered  by  way  of  the  Mata- 
wamkeag,  going  toward  the  St.  Croix,  was  dif- 
ferent from  the  one  passed  through  going  toward 
Quebec.  "The  jMicmacs. 


92 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN 


CHAPTER   IV 

Discovery  of  the  Quinibequy  River,  which  is 
on  the  coast  of  the  Almouchiquois,  as  far  as  lati- 
tude 42",  and  the  particulars  of  the  voyage.  How 
the  men  and  women  pass  the  time  during  the 
winter. 

Skirting  the  coast  westward^  one  passes 
the  mountains  of  Bedabedec,  and  we  saw 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  one  may  ap- 
proach with  large  ships,  but  where  there 
are  some  shallows  that  one  must  avoid,  lead 
in  hand.  Going  about  eight  leagues,  run- 
ning westward  along  the  coast,  we  passed 
a  number  of  islands  and  rocks  jutting  out  a 
league  into  the  sea,  and  went  as  far  as  an 
island  ten  leagues  from  Quinibequy.  At  the 
entrance  of  this  river  there  is  a  rather  high 
island,  which  we  named  the  Tortoise,^  and 
between  this  and  the  mainland  there  are 
some  scattering  rocks,  which  are  covered 
at  high  tide;  nevertheless,  one  always  sees 

^Champlain  here  omits  the  incidents  of  the  first 
winter  of  the  colony,  1604-05.  For  them  see  Voy- 
ages of  Champlain,  II,  49-55 ;  Laverdiere,  Voyage 
de  1613,  40-45.  The  narrative  now  takes  up  the 
explorations  of  the  summer  of  1605,  where  the 
exploration  of  1604  stopped. 

'Seguin  Island,  reached  July  i. 

93 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

the  water  break  above  them.  Tortoise  Isl- 
and and  the  river  he  south  southeast,  and 
north  northwest.  At  the  entrance  there  are 
two  medium-sized  islands — one  on  one  side, 
and  the  other  on  the  other;  and  some  300 
paces  inward  there  are  two  rocks,  where 
there  are  no  woods,  but  there  is  a  little 
grass.  We  anchored  300  paces  from  the 
mouth,  in  five  or  six  fathoms  of  water.  I 
decided  to  go  inland,  to  see  the  upper  part 
of  the  river  and  the  savages  who  live  there. 
When  we  had  gone  some  leagues  our  boat 
came  near  being  lost  on  a  rock  that  we 
grazed  in  passing.  Farther  along  we  met 
two  canoes  which  had  come  for  hunting 
birds  which,  for  the  most  part,  are  moulting 
at  that  season  and  cannot  fly.  We  accosted 
these  savages,  and  they  guided  us.  Going 
on  farther  to  see  their  captain,  called  Man- 
thoumermer,  when  we  had  made  from  seven 
to  eight  leagues,  we  passed  by  certain  isl- 
ands, straits  and  brooks,  which  flow  into 
the  river,  where  I  saw  some  beautiful  mead- 
ows. And  when  we  had  coasted  along  an 
island  about  four  leagues  in  length,  they  led 
us  to  where  their  chief  was  with  twenty-five 
or  thirty  savages.^    As  soon  as  we  had  an- 

*AFWiscasset  Harbor.  For  Champlain's  route 
after  entering  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec  see 
Slafter  in  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  58. 

94 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

chored  he  came  to  us  in  a  canoe  a  little 
apart  from  ten  others  which  accompanied 
it.  Drawing  near  to  our  boat  he  made 
a  speech,  in  which  he  made  it  clear  that 
he  was  glad  to  see  us,  and  that  he  wished 
to  have  our  alliance,  and  make  peace 
with  their  enemies  with  our  help,  saying 
that  the  next  day  he  would  send  to  us  two 
other  savage  captains  who  were  in  the  in- 
terior— one  called  Marchim  and  the  other 
Sasinou,  chief  of  the  Quinibequy  River. 

The  next  day  they  guided  us  down  the 
river  by  another  way  than  that  by  which 
we  came,  to  go  to  a  lake ;  and  passing  some 
islands  each  of  them  left  an  arrow  near  a 
cape*  by  which  all  the  savages  pass.  They 
think  that,  if  they  do  not  do  that,  some  mis- 
fortune will  befall  them,  so  the  devil  makes 
them  believe ;  and  they  live  in  this  supersti- 
tion, as  they  do  in  many  others. 

Beyond  this  cape  we  passed  a  very 
narrow  rapid,  but  not  without  great  diffi- 
culty; for,  although  we  had  a  good,  fresh 
wind  and  filled  our  sails  with  it  as  much  as 
possible,  we  could  not  get  through  in  that 
way,  and  were  obliged  to  fasten  a  hawser 
to  some  trees  and  to  pull  on  it.  Thus  we 
managed  to  get  through  by  the  strength 
of  our  arms,  aided  by  the  favorable  wind. 

*Hocicomock  Point 

95 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

The  savages  who  were  with  us  carried  their 
canoes  on  the  land,  as  they  could  not  get 
them  through  with  paddles.  After  having 
cleared  this  rapid  we  saw  some  beautiful 
meadows.  I  was  very  much  astonished  with 
regard  to  this  rapid,  because  when  we  went 
along  with  the  tide  ebbing  we  had  it  in 
our  favor,  but  when  we  were  at  the  rapid 
we  found  it  against  us,  and  after  we  had 
passed  the  rapid  the  tide  was  ebbing,  as  be- 
fore, for  which  we  were  very  glad.^ 

Following  our  route  we  came  to  the  lake,® 
from  three  to  four  leagues  long,  where 
there  are  some  islands.  Two  rivers  flow 
into  it — the  Quinibequy,  which  comes  from 
the  north  northeast,^  and  the  other  from 
the  northwest,  by  which  Marchim  and  Sasi- 
nou  were  expected.  When  we  had  waited 
for  them  all  that  day  and  saw  that  they 
were  not  coming,  we  decided  to  make  some 
use  of  the  time.  We  weighed  anchor,  and 
two  savages  came  with  us  from  this  lake 
to  guide  us,  and  this  day  we  anchored  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  we  caught 
a  quantity  of  various  kinds  of  good  fish. 
Meantime  our  savages  went  hunting,  but 

'For  an  explanation  of  this  curious  phenomenon 
see  Slafter's  note  in  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  59» 
^Merrymeeting  Bay. 
'The  Androscoggin. 

96 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

failed  to  return.  The  way  by  which  we  de- 
scended that  river  is  much  safer  and  better 
than  that  by  which  we  had  come.  Tortoise 
Island,  which  is  at  the  mouth  of  that  river, 
is  in  latitude  44°,  and  the  declination  of  the 
needle  is  ig**  12'.  About  four  leagues  from 
there,  in  the  sea,  toward  the  southwest,  are 
three  little  islands  where  the  English  fish 
for  cod.  One  can  go  from  this  river^  across 
the  land  as  far  as  Quebec,  some  50  leagues, 
without  passing  more  than  one  portage  of 
two  leagues.  Then  one  enters  another  little 
river^  which  empties  into  the  great  River 
St.  Lawrence.  This  Quinibequy  river  is 
very  dangerous  for  ships  for  half  a  league, 
because  there  is  so  little  water,  and  there 
are  big  tides,  rocks  and  shallows  as  much 
outside  as  within  it.  There  would  be  a  good 
channel  if  it  were  well  explored.  The  little 
that  I  saw  of  the  country  along  the  banks  of 
this  river  is  very  poor,  for  there  is  nothing 
but  rocks  on  all  sides.  There  is  a  quantity 
of  small  oaks  and  very  little  tillable  ground. 
.There  is  an  abundance  of  fish  here,  as  in 
the  other  rivers  mentioned  above.  The  peo- 
ple live  like  those  of  our  settlement,  and 
tell  us  that  the  savages  who  plant  Indian 
corn  are  very  far  inland,  and  that  they  have 


"The  Kennebec. 
'The  Chaudiere. 


97. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


given  up  doing  so  on  the  shores,  on  account 
of  the  war  that  they  had  with  the  others, 
who  took  it  from  them.  This  is  what  I  have 
been  able  to  learn  of  this  place,  which  I  da 
not  believe  is  any  better  than  the  others. 

The  savages  that  live  on  all  these  shores 
are  very  few  in  number.  During  the  win- 
ter, if  there  is  a  great  deal  of  snow,  they 
hunt  the  moose,^^  and  other  animals,  upon 
which  they  live  most  of  the  time;  and  if 
there  is  not  much  snow  it  is  not  to  their 
advantage,  inasmuch  as  they  cannot  get 
anything  without  excessive  labor,  which 
causes  them  to  endure  and  suffer  a  great 
deal.  When  they  do  not  hunt  they  live  on 
a  shellfish  which  is  called  the  clam.  They 
dress  themselves  in  winter  in  good  furs  of 
the  beaver  and  the  moose.  The  women  make 
all  the  clothes,  but  not  so  neatly  but  that 
one  sees  the  flesh  under  the  arms,  for  they 
are  not  skillful  enough  to  make  them  fit  bet- 
ter. When  they  go  hunting  they  take  a  kind 
of  racket,  twice  as  big  as  those  on  our  side 
of  the  water,  which  they  attach  to  their 
feet,  and  they  can  go  on  the  snow  in  this 
way  without  sinking  in;  the  women  and 
children,  as  well  as  the  men,  looking  for 
the  tracks  of  animals.  Then,  when  they  have 

^^Eslans,  elk,  here  means  moose;  usually  called 
by  its  Indian  name,  orignac, 

98 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

found  them,  they  follow  them  until  they 
see  the  beast,  and  then  they  shoot  at  it  with 
their  bows,  or  kill  it  with  stabs  of  swords 
fastened  to  the  end  of  a  short  pike  staff, 
which  is  easily  done,  since  these  animals 
cannot  walk  on  the  snow  without  sinking 
into  it.  Then  the  women  and  children  come 
to  the  place  and  make  a  hut  there,  and  give 
themselves  a  feast.  Afterward  they  return 
to  see  if  they  can  find  others. 

Coasting  along  by  the  shore  we  anchored 
behind  a  little  island  near  the  mainland,^^ 
where  we  observed  more  than  eight  savages 
running  along  the  shore  to  see  us ;  dancing 
and  signifying  the  pleasure  that  they  felt. 
I  visited  an  island,  which  is  very  beautiful 
on  account  of  what  grows  on  it,  for  there 
are  beautiful  oaks  and  walnuts,  the  land  is 
cleared,  and  there  are  many  vines,  which 
bear  beautiful  grapes  in  their  season — they 
were  the  first  that  I  had  seen  on  all  these 
shores  since  I  was  at  Cape  la  Heve.  We 
called  it  the  Isle  of  Bacchus.^^  When  the 
tide  was  high  we  weighed  anchor  and  en- 

"Stratton  Island.  A  short  passage  occurs  Just 
before  this  in  the  1613  narrative  which  records  the 
sight  of  some  high  mountains  to  the  west,  which 
are  identified  as  the  White  Mountains.  Cf.  Slaf- 
ter's  note  in  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  61. 

"Richmond  Island.    S. 

99 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

tered  a  little  river,  where  we  could  not  go 
before,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  bar  harbor  and 
has  only  half  a  fathom  of  water  at  low  tide, 
a  fathom  and  a  half  when  the  sea  is  at  half 
tide,   and   two    fathoms   when   it   is   high. 
When  one  is  within  it  one  finds  3,  4,  5  and 
6  fathoms.  When  we  had  anchored,  a  lot  of 
savages  came  to  the  bank  of  the  river  and 
began  to  dance. ^^   Their  captain  at  the  time, 
whom   they   called   Honemechin,   was   not 
with  them.    He  arrived  about  two  or  three 
hours  afterward  with  two  canoes.    Then  he 
went  off,  circling  all  about  our  boat.  These 
people  shave  the  hair  on  the  top  of  their 
heads    rather  high  up  and  wear  the  rest 
very  long,  combing  and  twisting  it  in  the 
back    in  various    ways    very   neatly   with 
feathers  that  they  fasten  to  the  head.  They 
paint  their  faces  black  and  red,  like  other 
savages  that  I  have  seen.    They  are  an  ac- 
tive people,  with  well-formed  bodies.  Their 
weapons  are  pikes,  clubs,  bows  and  arrows, 
on  the  end  of  which  somiC  put  the  tail  of  a 
fish  called  the  signoc;^"^  others  use  bone,  and 

"These  Indians  Champlain  calls  Almouchlquois 
in  his  earlier  narrative,  Voyages,  II,  6z.  They  are 
the  same  as  the  Massachusetts  of  the  early  Eng- 
lish settlers. 

"The  horseshoe  crab.  Champlain  gives  a  picture 
of  this  shellfish  in  his  map  of  1612. 

100 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

still  others  have  them  all  of  wood.  They  till 
and  cultivate  the  ground,  which  we  had  not 
seen  done  before.  Instead  of  ploughs  they 
have  an  instrument  of  wood,  very  strong, 
made  like  a  spade.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
country  call  this  river  the  Choiiacoet.^^ 

I  went  ashore  to  see  their  tillage  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,  and  I  saw  their  corn, 
which  is  Indian  corn.  They  make  gardens 
of  it,  planting  three  or  four  grains  in  a 
place,  then  heaping  up  a  quantity  of  earth 
with  the  shells  of  that  same  fish,  the  sig* 
noc,^®  on  them,  then  planting  again  as  much 
as  three  feet  off,  and  so  on.  Among  the  corn 
in  each  hill  they  plant  three  or  four  Brazil- 
ian beans/^  which  are  of  various  colors. 
When  they  are  grown  they  intertwine 
among  this  corn,  which  grows  five  or  six 
feet  high,  and  keep  the  field  very  free  from 
weeds.   We  saw  there  many  squashes^^  and 

"The  Saco.  Champlain  reached  this  point  July 
9,  1605. 

"The  shell  of  the  horseshoe  crab  used  as  a 
shovel. 

"The  kidney  bean,  commonly  used  as  string 
beans.  Phaseolus  vulgaris.  This  bean  is  indige- 
nous in  America,  and  probably  came  to  be  called 
the  Brazilian  bean  because  it  was  supposed  to 
have  been  introduced  into  France  from  Brazil. 

^*The  familiar  summer  squash,  indigenous  ia 
America. 

lOI 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

pumpkins   and   some  tobacco,   which  they 
also  cultivate.    The  Indian  corn  that  I  saw 
there  was  two  feet  high,  and  some  of  it  was 
three.    They  sow  it  in  May  and  harvest  it 
in  September.  As  for  the  beans,  they  were 
beginning    to   blossom,   as    were   also   the 
squashes  and  pumpkins.  I  saw  there  a  great 
quantity  of  nuts,  which  are  small,  and  have 
several  divisions.     There  were  not  any  yet 
on  the  trees,  but  we  found  enough  of  them 
underneath  that  had  fallen  the  year  before. 
There  are  also  a  great  many  vines,  which 
bear  a  very  beautiful  berry,  from  which  we 
made  a  very  good  verjuice,  something  that 
we  had  not  seen  before,  except  in  the  Isle 
of  Bacchus,  nearly  two  leagues  distant  from 
this  river.    Their  settled  habitation,  the  till- 
age and  the  beautiful  trees,  gave  me  the  im- 
pression that  the  air  there  is  milder  and 
better  than  that  where  we  passed  the  win- 
ter, and  than  that  of  other  places  on  the 
coast.    The  forests  in  the  interior  are  very 
light,    but,    nevertheless,    consist   of   oaks, 
beeches,    ashes    and   young   elms.    In   wet 
places  there  are  a  great  many  willows.  The 
savages  stay  in  this  place  all  the  time,  and 
have  a  big  cabin  surrounded  by  palisades 
made  of  rather  large  trees  placed  side  by 
side,  whither  they  retire  when  their  enemies 
come  to  war  against  them;  and  they  cover 

102 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN, 

their  cabins  with  oak  bark.  This  place  is 
very  pleasant  and  as  agreeable  as  any  one 
could  see.  The  river  is  full  of  fish  and  is 
surrounded  with  meadows.  At  its  mouth 
there  is  an  island  which  would  make  a  good 
fortress,  where  one  would  be  safe. 


CHAPTER   V 

The  Choiiacoet  River.  Places  that  the  author 
discovered  there.  Cape  of  Islands.  Canoes  of  the 
people  made  of  birch  bark.  How  the  savages  of 
that  country  revive  those  who  faint  away.  Use 
stones  instead  of  knives.  Their  chief  honorably 
received  by  us. 

On  Sunday,  the  twelfth  of  the  month,^ 
we  left  the  river  called  Choiiacoet.  Coast- 
ing along  the  shore,  after  having  made  six 
or  seven  leagues,  we  were  obliged  by  a  con- 
trary wind  to  anchor  and  go  ashore,  where 
we  saw  two  meadows,  each  a  league  long 
and  half  a  league  wide.  From  Choiiacoet 
to  this  place  (where  we  saw  some  little 
birds,  which  have  a  song  like  blackbirds, 
and  are  black,  except  the  end  of  the  wings, 
which  are  orange  )2  there  are  a  great  many 
grapevines  and  nut  trees.     This  coast  is 

*July  12,  1605,  fell  on  Tuesday.   L. 
*The  Redwing  blackbird.     S. 
103 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

sandy  in  most  places  from  Quinibequy. 
This  da}^  we  turned  back  two  or  three 
leagues  toward  Choiiacoet,  as  far  as  a  cape 
that  we  named  Island  Harbor,^  good  for 
ships  of  a  hundred  tons.  It  is  among  three 
islands. 

Heading  northeast  a  quarter  north/  near 
this  place,  one  enters  another  harbor^  where 
there  is  no  passage  (although  there  are  isl- 
ands), except  that  by  which  one  enters.  At 
the  entrance  there  are  some  dangerous 
rocks,  with  the  sea  breaking  over  them.  On 
these  islands  there  are  so  many  red  currants 
that  one  sees  nothing  else  in  most  places, 
and  there  are  an  infinite  number  of  pigeons, 
of  which  we  caught  a  good  many.  The 
Island  Harbor  is  in  latitude  43"  25'. 

Sailing  along  the  coast  we  noticed 
smoke  on  the  shore  of  the  sea.  We  ap- 
proached as  near  as  possible,  and  saw  no 
savages,  which  made  us  think  that  they  had 
fled  from  the  place.  The  sun  was  sinking, 
and  we  could  not  find  any  place  to  pass  that 
night,  because  the  coast  was  flat  and  sandy. 
Heading  south,  in  order  to  keep  off  shore, 
so  that  we  might  anchor,  when  we  had 
made   about  two  leagues,   we  observed  a 

^Cape  Porpoise  Harbor.    S. 
*I.  e.,  northeast  by  north. 
'Goose  Fair  Harbor.   S. 
104 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

cape  on  the  mainland,  south  a  quarter 
southeast^  of  us,  perhaps  six  leagues  away. 
Two  leagues  to  the  east  we  saw  three  or 
four  rather  high  islands,'^  and  to  the  west 
a  large  bay.  The  shores  of  this  bay,  as  far 
as  the  cape,  run  inland  from  where  we  were 
about  four  leagues.  It  is  two  leagues  wide 
from  north  to  south,  and  three  at  its  en- 
trance.^ And  not  discovering  any  place  suit- 
able to  put  up  in,  we  decided  to  go  to  that 
cape  under  short  sail  a  part  of  the  night, 
and  approached  it  as  far  as  where  the  wa- 
ter was  1 6  fathoms  deep.  There  we  anr 
chored  to  await  the  dawn. 

The  next  day  we  went  to  this  cape,  where 
there  are  three  islands  near  the  mainland 
full  of  trees  of  different  kinds,  as  at  Choii- 
acoet,  and  on  the  whole  coast;  and  to  an- 
other flat  one,  where  the  sea  breaks,  which 
juts  out  into  the  sea  a  little  farther  than 
the  others,  where  there  is  not  any  wood  at 
all.  We  named  this  place  Island  Cape.* 
Near  it  we  perceived  a  canoe  with  five  or 
six  savages  in  it  who  were  coming  to  us, 
who,  when  they  were  near  our  boat,  went 

T  e.,  south  by  east.    This  was  Cape  Anne. 
'The  Isles  of  Shoals. 

"The  broad  water  at  the  mouth  of  the  Merri- 
mac. 
'Cape  Anne. 

105 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

away  to  dance  on  the  shore.  I  landed  to 
see  them,  and  gave  each  one  a  knife  and 
some  biscuit,  which  caused  them  to  dance 
again  better  than  before.  When  this  was 
over,  I  made  them  understand,  as  best  I 
could,  that  they  should  show  me  how  the 
coast  lay.  After  having  depicted  for  them, 
with  a  piece  of  charcoal,  the  bay  and  the 
Island  Cape,  where  we  were,  they  repre- 
sented for  me,  with  the  same  crayon,  an- 
other bay,  which  they  showed  as  very 
large.^^  They  put  six  pebbles  at  equal  dis- 
tances, thus  giving  me  to  understand  that 
each  of  these  stood  for  as  many  chiefs  and 
tribes.  Then  they  represented  within  this 
bay  a  river^^  which  we  had  passed,  which 
extends  very  far,  and  has  shoals.  We  found 
a  great  many  vines  in  this  place,  with  green 
grapes  on  them  a  little  larger  than  peas, 
and  many  nut  trees,  on  which  the  nuts  were 
no  larger  than  musket  balls.  These  savages 
told  us  that  all  who  lived  in  this  country 
cultivated  and  planted  the  soil,  like  the 
others  that  we  had  seen  before.  This 
place  is  in  latitude  43  degrees  and  some 
minutes. 

Doubling  the  cape^^  we  entered  a  cove, 

^"Massachusetts  Bay. 
^^The  Merrimac. 

"This  paragraph  and  the  two  short  ones  follow- 
106 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

where  there  are  quantities  of  vines,  Brazil- 
ian peas/^  pumpkins,  squashes,  and  some 
roots  that  are  good,  which  the  savages 
cultivate,  and  which  taste  somewhat  Uke 
chards.^* 

This  place,  which  is  rather  pleasant,  is 
fertile  in  walnut^**  trees,  cypresses,^^  oaks, 
ashes  and  beeches,  which  are  very  beautiful. 

We  saw  there  a  savage  who  hurt  his  foot 
so  badly,  and  lost  so  much  blood,  that  he 
fell  in  a  faint.  A  number  of  others  sur- 
rounded him  and  sang  some  time  before 
they  touched  him.  Then,  making  certain 
signs  with  the  feet  and  hands,  they  moved 
his  head,  and,  with  a  sigh,  he  came  to  him- 
self. Our  surgeon  dressed  the  wound  and 
he  was  not  prevented,  on  that  account,  from 
going  off  gaily. 

When  we  had  sailed  half  a  league^*  we 
noticed  several  savages  on  the  point  of  a 
rock.     They  ran  dancing    along  the  shore 

ing  are  taken  from  the  description  of  the  voyage 
of  1606  and  are  inserted  here  to  make  the  record 
of  the  exploration  of  this  coast  a  continuous  nar- 
rative. See  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  in-112. 
See  Laverdiere's  note,  Voyage  de  1632 ^  I,  86. 

"Probably  for  beans  by  a  slip  of  the  pen. 

"This  plant  was  the  Jerusalem  artichoke.   S. 

^**I.  e.,  hickory  trees. 

"The  red  cedar.     S. 

"The  exploration  of  July,  1605,  is  here  resumed. 
107 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

toward  their  companions  to  warn  them  of 
our  coming.  When  they  had  shown  us  the 
direction  in  w^hich  they  hved  they  made  a 
sign  with  smoke,  to  show  us  their  dwell- 
ings. We  anchored  near  a  little  island/^ 
from  which  we  sent  our  canoe  to  carry 
them  knives  and  cakes.  We  perceived,  from 
the  number  of  them,  that  these  places  were 
more  inhabited  than  the  others  that  we  had 
seen.  After  we  had  spent  two  hours  study- 
ing these  people,  whose  canoes  are  made  of 
birch  bark,  like  those  of  the  Canadians, 
Souriquois  and  Etechemins,  we  weighed 
anchor,  and,  with  the  prospect  of  good 
weather,  we  set  sail.  Continuing  our  route 
west  southwest,  we  saw  many  islands  on 
both  sides.  Having  made  seven  or  eight 
leagues,  we  anchored  near  an  island,^^ 
where  we  saw  a  great  deal  of  smoke  all 
along  the  shore  and  many  savages  running 
to  see  us.  We  sent  two  or  three  men  in  a 
canoe  toward  them,  to  whom  we  gave  some 
knives  and  beads  to  present  to  them.  They 
were  much  pleased  with  these  things,  and 
danced  several  times  in  acknowledgment. 
We  could  not  find  out  the  name  of  their 
chief,  because  we  did  not  understand  their 

^'Thatcher's  Island.    S. 

"Probably  in  Boston  Harbor,  near  the  western 
end  of  Noddle's  Island,  now  East  Boston.   S. 

io8 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

language.    All  along  the  shore  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  land  cleared,  and  planted  with 
Indian  corn.    The  country  is  very  pleasant 
and  agreeable,  with  a  great  many  beautiful 
trees.     Those  who  inhabit  it  have  canoes 
made  all  in  one  piece,  very  easy  to  upset  if 
one  is  not  skillful  in  managing  them.    We 
had  not  seen  any  of  that  kind  before.    This 
is  how  they  make  them :  after  having  taken 
much  trouble  and  spent  a  long  time  in  fell- 
ing the  largest  and  tallest  tree  that  they  can 
find,  with  stone  hatchets   (for  at  that  time 
they  had  no  other  kind,  unless  some  of  them 
got  some  from  the  savages  on  the  coast  of 
Acadie,  who  got  them  in  the  fur  trade), 
they  take  off  the  bark,  and  round  it  all  but 
one  side,  where  they  set  fires  every  little 
way  all  along  the  log.    Sometimes  they  take 
red-hot  pebbles,  which  they  also  put  on  it, 
and  when  the  fire  is  too  fierce  they  extin- 
guish it  with  a  little  water;  not  entirely, 
but  only  enough  to  prevent  the  edge  of  the 
canoe  from  being  burned.    When  it  is  as 
much    hollowed    out    as    they    wish,    they 
scrape  it  all  over  with  these  stones.    The 
pebbles  with  which  they  do  the  cutting  are 
like  our  musket  flints. 

The  next  day,  the  17th  of  the  month,  we 
weighed  anchor  to  go  to  the  cape,  which 
we  had  seen  the  day  before,  and  which  was 

109 


'  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

south  southwest^^  of  us.  This  day  we  could 
make  only  five  leagues,  and  we  passed  some 
islands  covered  with  wood.^^  I  recognized 
in  the  bay  everything  that  the  savages  of 
Island  Cape  had  described  to  me.  As  we 
continued  our  course,  a  great  many  people 
came  to  us  from  the  islands  and  the  main- 
land in  canoes.  We  anchored  a  league  from 
the  cape,  which  I  named  Saint  Louis,^^ 
where  we  saw  smoke  in  several  places. 
When  we  were  trying  to  go  there  our  boat 
ran  on  a  rock,  where  we  were  in  great 
danger;  for,  if  we  had  not  got  it  off 
promptly,  it  would  have  overturned  into 
the  sea,  which  was  ebbing,  where  there  were 
about  five  or  six  fathoms  of  water.  But 
God  preserved  us,  and  we  anchored  near 
this  cape,  whither  came  fifteen  or  sixteen 
canoes  of  savages,  some  of  them  containing 
fifteen  or  sixteen,  who  began  to  show 
signs  of  great  joy,  and  made  a  variety  of 
speeches,  which  we  did  not  understand  at 
all.  We  sent  three  or  four  men  ashore  in 
our  canoe,  to  get  some  water,  and  to  see 
their  chief,  named  Honabetha.  He  was 
given  some  knives,  and  other  trinkets,  which 
I  thought  it  proper  to  give  them.  He  came 

"Southeast? 
"In  Boston  Bay. 
^'Brant  Point.   S. 

1 10 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

alongside  to  see  us,  with  a  number  of  his 
companions,  of  whom  there  were  as  many 
on  the  bank  as  in  their  canoes.  We  received 
the  chief  very  kindly,  and  gave  him  good 
cheer;  and  when  he  had  been  there  some 
time  he  returned.  The  micn  whom  we  had 
sent  to  them  brought  us  some  little  squashes 
the  size  of  one's  fist,  which  we  ate  as  a 
salad,  like  cucumbers.  They  are  very  good. 
They  brought,  also,  some  purslane,  which 
grows  freely  amongst  the  Indian  corn,  and 
of  which  they  take  no  more  account  than  of 
weeds.  We  saw,  in  this  place,  a  great  many 
little  houses  scattered  about  the  fields  where 
they  plant  their  Indian  corn. 

There  is,  besides,  in  this  bay  a  very  large 
river,--  which  I  named  River  du  Gas.  I 
think  it-  rises  in  the  direction  of  the  Iro- 
quois, a  tribe-^  that  has  open  war  with  the 
Montagnais  of  the  great  Saint  Lawrence 
River. 

"Probably  the  Charles  River.  Apparently  added 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter  to  make  complete  the 
description  of  Boston  Bay,  although  it  would 
naturally  have  been  mentioned  earlier.  The  river 
was  named  after  De  Monts,  whose  family  name 
was  Du  Guast  (also  spelled  Gua,  or  Gas). 

"Champlain's  maps  greatly  contract  the  width 
of  the  land  between  the  coast  and  Lake  Cham- 
plain. 


Ill 


yOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


CHAPTER  VI 

Continuation  of  the  discoveries  along  the  coast 
of  the  Almouchiquois,  and  what  we  specially  no- 
ticed there. 

The  next  day  we  rounded  Cape  St. 
Louis,  so  named  by  us,  a  rather  flat  coun- 
try, in  latitude  42f  °,  and  this  day  made  two 
leagues  along  a  sandy  shore.  In  going  by 
we  saw  there  a  great  many  cabins  and  gar- 
dens, and  entered  a  little  bay.  Two  or  three 
canoes  came  toward  us,  on  their  way  from 
catching  cod  and  other  fish,  which  abound 
there.  They  catch  them  with  hooks  made 
of  a  piece  of  wood,  into  which  they  drive 
a  bone  shaped  like  a  harpoon,  which  they 
fasten  very  carefully  so  that  it  shall  not 
come  out,  the  whole  being  in  the  form  of 
a  hook.  The  line  which  is  attached  to  it  is 
of  hemp,  I  think,  like  that  in  France ;  and 
they  told  me  that  they  gathered  the  plant 
for  it  in  their  land  without  cultivating  it, 
indicating  to  us  that  it  was  four  or  five  ieet 
high.^  This  canoe  went  back  to  the  land  to 
warn  those  of  this  settlement,  who  made 

*The  swamp  milkweed,  or  Indian  hemp.   S. 
112 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

fires  in  our  honor ;  and  we  saw  eighteen  or 
twenty  savages  come  to  the  edge  of  the  wa- 
ter and  dance.  Our  canoe  went  ashore  to 
give  them  some  trinkets,  with  which  they 
were  very  much  pleased.  Some  of  them 
came  to  us  and  asked  us  to  come  to  their 
river.  We  weighed  anchor  to  do  so,  but  we 
could  not  enter  it  because  of  the  little  wa- 
ter that  we  found  there,  as  it  was  low  tide. 
And  so  we  were  obliged  to  anchor  at  the 
mouth.  I  went  ashore,  where  I  saw  a  great 
many  more  savages,  who  received  us  very 
graciously.  I  explored  the  river,  where  I 
observed  nothing  but  an  arm  of  water 
which  extended  a  little  inland.  This  land 
is,  in  part,  cleared.  In  it  there  is  only  a 
brook  which  cannot  carry  boats,  except  at 
high  tide.  This  place  is  about  a  league  in 
circumference.  At  one  side  of  the  entrance 
to  it  there  is  a  sort  of  island  covered  with 
wood,  principally  pines,  which  is  connected 
at  one  end  with  some  pretty  long  sand 
dunes;  on  the  other  side  there  is  rather 
high  ground.  There  are  two  islets  in  this 
bay,  that  one  does  not  see  unless  one  is 
within  it.  And  in  this  bay  the  sea  is  almost 
dry  at  low  tide.  This  place  is  very  notice- 
able from  the  sea,  inasmuch  as  the  shore 
is  very  flat,  except  the  cape  at  the  entrance 
of  the  bay.     We  named  it  Cape  St.  Louis 

113 


'   VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS    ^ 

Harbor,^  it  being  distant  two  leagues  from 
this  cape,  and  ten  from  the  Island  Cape.  It 
is  in  about  the  same  latitude  as  Cape  St. 
Louis. 

We  left  this  place,^  and,  coasting  along 
the  shore  southward,  we  made  four  or  five 
leagues  and  passed  near  a  rock  level  with 
the  water.  Continuing  our  course  we  per- 
ceived land  which  we  thought  was  islands; 
but,  getting  near  it,  we  discovered  that  it 
was  the  mainland,  north  northwest  of  us, 
and  that  it  was  the  cape  of  a  large  bay* 
more  than  i8  or  19  leagues  in  circumfer- 
ence, where  we  were  so  engulfed  that  we 
had  to  turn  completel}^  about  to  round  the 
cape  that  we  had  seen.  We  named  it  Cape 
Blanc,^  because  it  was  sand  and  dunes 
which  looked  white.  A  favorable  wind 
served  us  well  in  this  place,  for  without  it 
we  should  have  been  in  danger  of  being 
cast  on  the  shore.  This  bay  is  very  safe, 
provided  one  does  not  go  nearer  the  shore 

'This  was  the  harbor  of  Plymouth.  See  Voy- 
ages of  Champlain,  II,  78,  for  his  plan  and  the 
identification  of  the  places  on  it.  This  harbor 
had  been  visited  by  Martin  Pring  in  1603,  and 
Capt.  John  Smith  explored  it  in  1614  and  named 
it  Plymouth. 

'On  July  19,  1605. 

*Cape  Cod  Bay. 
t    'Cape  Cod. 

114 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

than  a  good  league,  for  it  has  no  islands  or 
rocks,  except  the  one  of  which  I  have 
spoken,  which  is  near  a  river  that  runs  some 
distance  inland.®  We  named  this  river  Ste. 
Suzanne  du  Cap  Blanc.  From  it  to  Cape 
St.  Louis  is  ten  leagues  across.  Cape 
Blanc  is  a  sandy  point  which  bends  around 
to  the  south  six  leagues.  This  coast  con- 
sists of  lofty  sand  dunes,  which  are  con- 
spicuous as  one  comes  from  the  sea.  Sound- 
ing at  about  15  or  18  leagues  from  the  land 
one  finds  30,  40  and  50  fathoms  of  water 
all  the  way  until  one  comes  to  10  fathoms, 
near  the  shore,  which  is  very  safe.  There  is 
a  great  stretch  of  open  country  on  the  shore 
before  one  enters  the  woods  .which  are  very 
agreeable  and  pleasant  to  see.  We  anchored 
off  the  shore  and  noticed  several  savages, 
toward  whom  four  of  our  men  went.  Walk- 
ing on  a  sand  dune  they  saw  a  sort  of  bay 
and  some  cabins  bordering  it  all  around. 
When  they  were  about  a  league  and  a  half 
from  us  there  came  dancing  toward  them 
(as  they  told  us)  a  savage  who  had  come 
down  from  the  high  part  of  the  coast  and 
who  returned  there  shortly  afterward  to 
warn  those  of  his  settlement  of  our  coming. 
The  next  day^  we  went  to  the  place  that 

•Wellfleet  Harbor. 
7wly  20. 

115 


-    VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

our  men  had  discovered,  which  we  found 
to  be  a  very  dangerous  port,  because  of 
shallows  and  bars,  and  where  we  saw  break- 
ers in  every  direction.  It  was  almost  low 
tide  when  we  entered  it,  and  there  were 
only  four  feet  of  water  in  the  northern 
passage ;  at  high  tide  there  are  two  fathoms. 
When  we  were  in  it  we  found  this  place 
rather  large,  perhaps  three  or  four  leagues 
in  circumference,  all  surrounded  by  little 
houses,  about  which  each  occupant  had  as 
much  land  as  was  necessary  for  his  sup- 
port. A  rather  pretty  little  river  empties 
into  it.  At  low  tide  it  is  about  three  and 
a  half  feet  deep.  There  are  also  two  or 
three  brooks  bordered  by  meadows.  This 
place  would  be  very  fine,  if  only  the  harbor 
were  good.  I  took  the  altitude  and  found  the 
latitude  42°,  and  the  variation  of  the  needle 
18"  40'.  A  great  many  savages  came  to  us, 
both  men  and  women,  who  ran  up  from  ev- 
ery direction  dancing.  We  named  this  place 
Port  de  Mallebarre.^ 

The  next  day  we  went,  with  our  arms, 
to  see  their  settlement,  going  a  league  along 
the  coast.  Before  arriving  at  their  cabins, 
we  entered  a  field  planted  with  Indian  corn 
in  the  way  that  we  have  already  described. 
It  was  in  flower  and  was  five  and  a  half  feet 

^Nauset  Harbor. 

116 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

high.  There  was  some  less  advanced, 
planted  later.  We  also  saw  a  great  many 
Brazilian  beans,  and  squashes  of  various 
sizes,  good  to  eat;  some  tobacco  and  some 
roots  that  they  cultivated,  which  have  the 
taste  of  the  artichoke.  The  woods  are  filled 
with  oaks,  walnuts^  and  very  beautiful  cy- 
presses,^^ which  are  reddish  and  have  a 
very  good  odor.  There  were  also  several 
fields  that  were  not  cultivated  at  all,  because 
they  were  letting  the  soil  He  fallow;  when 
they  wish  to  plant  it  they  burn  the  grass 
and  then  till  it  with  their  wooden  spades. 
Their  cabins  are  round,  covered  with  great 
mats  made  of  reeds,  and  on  the  top,  in  the 
middle,  there  is  about  a  foot  and  a  half 
open,  where  the  smoke  of  the  fires  that  they 
make  escapes.  We  asked  them  if  that  was 
their  settled  home,  and  if  it  snowed  there 
much ;  which  we  could  not  very  well  as- 
certain, as  we  did  not  know  their  language, 
although  they  tried  as  hard  as  they  could 
to  tell  us  by  signs,  taking  some  sand  in  their 
hands,  then  spreading  it  on  the  ground  and 
showing  that  it  was  the  color  of  our  neck- 
bands and  that  it  came  upon  the  earth  to 
the  depth  of  a  foot.  Others  of  them  showed 
us  that  it  was  less ;  giving  us  also  to  un- 

"Here  probably  hickories. 
"Red  cedars. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

derstand  that  the  harbor  never  freezes. 
But  we  could  not  find  out  whether 
the  snow  lasted  long  or  not.  Never- 
theless, I  think  that  the  region  is  tem- 
perate, and  that  the  winter  is  not 
severe.^^ 

None  of  the  savages  this  side  of  the  Isl- 
and Cape  wear  either  gowns  or  furs,  except 
very  rarely,  and  what  gowns  they  do  wear 
are  made  of  grass  and  of  hemp,  and  scarce- 
ly cover  their  bodies,  reaching  only  to  the 
thighs.  They  have  only  the  private  parts 
concealed  with  a  small  piece  of  skin.  And 
the  women,  too,  except  that  with  them  it 
comes  down  a  little  lower  in  the  back  than 
with  the  men.  All  the  rest  of  the  body  is 
naked.  When  the  women  came  to  see  us 
they  wore  gowns  open  in  the  front.  The 
men  cut  ofif  their  hair  on  the  top  of  the 
head,  like  those  at  the  Choiiacoet  River.  I 
saw,  among  other  things,  a  girl  with  her 
hair  dressed  quite  neatly,  with  a  skin  dyed 
red,  embroidered  on  the  upper  part  with 
little  beads  of  shell.     A  part  of  her  hair 

"At  this  point  Champlain  omits  the  account 
given  in  his  earlier  narrative  of  the  fray  with  the 
Indians,  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  a  sailor. 
This  was  the  first  recorded  clash  between  the 
French  and  the  Massachusetts  Indians.  See  Voy- 
ages of  Champlain,  II,  83-84.  Laverdiere,  Voy- 
ages, 1613;  pp.  67-68. 

118 

( 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

hung  down  her  back,  and  the  rest  was 
braided  in  different  ways.  These  people 
paint  their  faces  red,  black  and  yellow. 
They  have  almost  no  beard,  and  pull  it  out 
as  fast  as  it  grows,  and  their  bodies  are  well 
proportioned.  I  do  not  know  what  govern- 
ment they  have,  and  I  think  that  in  that 
they  resemble  their  neighbors,  who  have 
not  any,  and  do  not  know  how  to  worship 
or  to  pray.  For  arms  they  have  only  pikes, 
clubs,  bows  and  arrows.  They  appear,  to 
look  at  them,  good-natured  and  better  than 
those  in  the  north;  but,  to  tell  the  truth, 
they  are  bad,  and  even  the  little  we  saw 
of  them  enabled  us  easily  to  discern  their 
character.  They  are  great  thieves,  and  if 
they  cannot  secure  a  thing  with  their  hands 
they  try  to  do  so  with  their  feet,  as  we  have 
often  experienced.  One  should  be  on  one's 
guard  with  these  people  and  constantly  dis- 
trust them,  without  ever  letting  them  be 
aware  of  it.  They  bartered  their  bows,  ar- 
rows and  quivers  with  us  for  pins  and  but- 
tons ;  and  if  they  had  had  anything  better 
they  would  have  done  the  same  thing.  They 
gave  us  a  great  deal  of  tobacco,  which  they 
dry,  then  powder.  When  they  eat  Indian 
corn  they  boil  it  in  earthen  pots,  which  they 
make  differently  from  our  method.  They 
also  bray  it  in  wooden  mortars  and  reduce 

119 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

it  to  flour,  then  make  cakes  and  biscuits  of 
it,  like  the  Indians  of  Peru.^^ 

There  is  some  cleared  land,  and  they  are 
clearing  some  every  day.  This  is  how  they 
do  it:  they  cut  the  trees  three  feet  from 
the  ground,  then  burn  the  branches  on  the 
trunk,  and  plant  their  corn  between  these 
cut  trees,  and  in  the  course  of  time  take  up 
the  roots.  There  are  also  some  beautiful 
meadows  which  would  feed  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  cattle.  This  harbor  is  very  beautiful 
and  good.  There  is  enough  water  in  it  for 
ships,  and  one  can  be  sheltered  there  be- 
hind the  islands.  It  is  in  latitude  43°,  and 
we  named  it  Beauport.^^ 

The  last  day  of  September^*  we  de- 
parted from  Beauport,  passed  by  Cape  St. 

"Nauset  Harbor,  on  the  southeast  bend  of  Cape 
Cod,  was  the  end  of  the  exploration  of  1605.  The 
earlier  narrative  records  a  few  more  observations 
about  the  Indians,  etc.,  and  then  tells  of  the  re- 
turn and  the  removal  of  the  settlement  from  St. 
Croix  to  Port  Royal  and  its  history  down  to  Sept. 
5,  1606,  when  Poutrincourt  set  out  to  make  fur- 
ther exploration  of  the  coast  to  the  south.  Cham- 
plain  roughly  fitted  the  narrative  of  the  voyage  of 
1606  on  to  that  of  the  1605  voyage  with  some 
overlapping.  It  begins  in  the  following  paragraph 
with  some  further  observations  about  Cape  Anne. 

^^Gloucester  Harbor. 

"Sept.  30,  1606. 

120 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

Louis,^^  and  sailed  all  night  toward  Cape 
Blanc/^  In  the  morning,  one  hour  before 
dawn,  we  found  ourselves  to  the  leeward  of 
Cape  Blanc,  in  Baye  Blanche,^^  in  eight  feet 
of  water,  a  league  from  the  land.  We  an- 
chored there,  in  order  not  to  go  any  nearer 
before  daylight  and  to  see  how  the  tide 
was.  Meanwhile,  we  sent  our  shallop  to 
make  soundings.  Not  more  than  eight  feet 
of  water  was  found,  so  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  decide,  while  we  waited  for  day- 
light, what  we  should  do.  The  water  low- 
ered to  five  feet,  and  sometimes  our  bark 
went  aground  on  the  sand,  always  without 
any  shock  or  any  damage,  for  the  sea  was 
fine  and  we  had  not  less  than  three  feet  of 
water  under  us.  Then  the  sea  began  to 
rise,  which  gave  us  great  hope. 

When  it  was  day  we  observed  a  very  low, 
sandy  shore,  ofif  which  we  were,  only  more 
to  the  leeward.  Thither  we  sent  the  shal- 
lop to  make  soundings  in  the  direction  of 
some  rather  high  land,  where  we  thought 
that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  water,  and, 
in  fact,  we  found  there  seven  fathoms.  We 
anchored  there,  and  at  the  same  time  pre- 
pared the  shallop,  with  nine  or  ten  men,  to 

"Brant  Point. 
"Cape  Cod. 
"Cape  Cod  Bay. 

121 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

go  ashore  to  look  at  a  place  where  we 
thought  there  was  an  excellent  harbor,  to 
which  we  could  go  if  the  wind  should  rise 
higher  than  it  then  was.  Having  explored 
we  entered  it  in  2,  3  and  4  fathoms  of 
water.  When  we  were  within  we  found  5 
or  6  fathoms.  There  were  a  great  many 
oysters  there,  which  were  very  good.  We 
had  not  seen  them  before,  and  we  called 
the  place  Oyster  Harbor.^^  It  is  in  latitude 
42°.  Three  canoes  of  savages  came  to  us. 
This  day  the  wind  was  favorable  for  us, 
and  so  we  weighed  anchor  to  go  to  Cape 
Blanc,  distant  from  this  place  five  leagues 
north  a  quarter  northeast,  and  we  doubled 
it. 

The  next  day,  October  2,  we  arrived  off 
Mallebarre,^®  where  we  sojourned  some 
time,  on  account  of  an  adverse  wind.  Dur- 
ing this  time  we  went  with  the  shallop,  with 
a  dozen  or  fifteen  men,  to  visit  the  harbor. 
There  a  hundred  and  fifty  savages  came  to 
meet  us,  singing  and  dancing,  according  to 
their  custom.  When  we  had  seen  this  place 
we  returned  to  our  ship  and,  as  the  wind 
was  favorable,  we  sailed  along  the  coast 
toward  the  south. 

"Probably  Barnstable  Harbor.   S. 
"Nauset. 


122 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 


CHAPTER  VII 

Continuation  of  these  explorations  as  far  as 
Port  Fortune,  some  twenty  leagues  from  there. 

When  we  were  about  six  leagues  from 
Mallebarre  we  anchored  near  the  shore,  as 
the  wind  was  unfavorable.  Along  the  shore 
we  perceived  some  smoke  made  by  the  sav- 
ages, which  decided  us  to  go  to  see  them, 
and,  with  this  object,  the  shallop  was 
equipped.  But  when  we  were  near  the 
beach,  which  is  sandy,  we  could  not  reach 
it  for  the  swell  was  too  great.  When  the 
savages  saw  this  they  launched  a  canoe  and 
eight  or  nine  of  them  came  toward  us  sing- 
ing and  making  signs  of  the  joy  that  they 
felt  at  seeing  us.  Then  they  showed  us  that 
lower  down  there  was  a  harbor,  where  we 
could  put  our  bark  in  a  safe  place.  As  the 
shallop  could  not  get  to  the  shore  it  came 
back  to  the  bark,  and  the  savages  returned 
to  the  shore  after  we  had  treated  them 
kindly. 

The  next  day,  the  wind  being  favorable, 
we  continued  our  course  five  leagues  to  the 
north,^  and  had  no  sooner  gone  thus  far 

^A  mistake  for  the  south. 
123 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

than  we  found  three  or  four  fathoms  of 
water  a  league  and  a  half  from  the  shore. 
When  we  had  gone  a  little  farther  the  bot- 
tom rose  to  a  fathom  and  a  half,  and  two 
fathoms,  which  gave  us  some  apprehension, 
as  we  saw  the  sea  breaking  on  all  sides,  and 
did  not  see  any  passage  by  which  we  could 
return  on  our  course,  for  the  wind  was 
directly  contrary. 

Being  thus  entangled  among  the  breakers 
and  sand-bars  it  was  necessary  to  take 
our  chances  on  a  passage  where  we  could 
judge  that  there  was  the  most  water  for 
our  bark,  which  drew  at  least  four  feet,  and 
we  went  among  the  breakers  to  where  it 
was  four  and  a  half  feet  deep.  At  last  we 
succeeded,  by  the  grace  of  God,  in  getting 
by  a  sandy  point  which  juts  almost  three 
leagues  into  the  sea,  south  southeast,  a  very 
dangerous  place.  Doubling  this  cape,  which 
we  named  Cap  Batturier,^  a  dozen  or  thir- 
teen leagues  from  Mallebarre,  we  anchored 
in  two  and  a  half  fathoms  of  water,  for  we 
perceived  that  we  were  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  breakers  and  shoals,  except  in  some 
places  where  the  sea  was  not  so  rough.  We 
sent  the  shallop  to  find  a  channel,  so  that 
we  might  go  to  a  place  which  we  judged 

'Monomoy  Point.     The  distances  arc  overesti- 
mated, S.    Cap  Batturier  means  Cape  of  Shoals. 

124 


SAMUEL    DE    CHAMPLAIN 

to  be  the  one  that  the  savages  had  told  us 
about ;  and  we  thought,  too,  that  there  was 
a  river  there,  where  we  could  be  safe. 

When  our  shallop  arrived  there,  our  men 
went  ashore  and  looked  over  the  place. 
Then  they  came  back,  bringing  a  savage 
with  them,  and  told  us  that  we  could  enter 
there  at  high  tide,  which  we  decided  to  do. 
Immediately  we  weighed  anchor  and,  under 
the  guidance  of  the  savage,  who  piloted  us, 
we  anchored  at  a  roadstead^  in  front  of  the 
harbor,  where  there  were  six  fathoms  of 
water  and  a  good  bottom.  We  could  not 
enter  the  harbor,  for  night  had  overtaken 
us. 

The  next  day  some  one  was  sent  to  place 
beacons  on  the  end  of  a  sand  bank  at  the 
mouth  of  the  harbor;  then,  as  it  was  high 
tide,  we  entered  in  two  fathoms  of  water. 
When  we  got  there  we  praised  God  that  we 
were  in  a  place  of  safety.*  Our  rudder, 
which  had  broken,  had  been  repaired  with 
ropes,  and  we  feared  lest,  among  these 
shallows  and  strong  tides,  it  would  break 
again,  which  would  have  caused  us  to 
be    lost. 

Within    this    harbor    tliere    is    only   one 
fathom  of  water,  and  at  high  tide  two.   On 

'Chatham  Roads,  or  Old  Stage  Harbor.    S. 
*Stage  Harbor,  Chatham.     S. 
125 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

the  east  there  is  a  bay  which  runs  norAi- 
ward  about  three  leagues.  In  it  there  are 
an  island  and  two  other  little  coves,  which 
make  the  landscape  beautiful.  There  is  a 
good  deal  of  cleared  land,  and  there  are 
many  little  hills,  where  they  raise  corn  and 
other  grains  upon  which  they  live.  There 
are  also  very  beautiful  vines  there,  a  great 
many  walnuts,  oaks,  cypresses'^  and  a  few 
pines.  All  the  people  here  are  very  fond  of 
tilling  the  soil,  and  store  Indian  corn  for 
the  winter,  which  they  preserve  in  the  fol- 
lowing way:  they  make  trenches  on  the 
hillsides  in  the  sand,  five  or  six  feet,  more 
or  less,  deep;  put  their  corn  and  other 
grains  in  big  sacks  made  of  grass,  and 
throw  them  into  these  trenches  and  cover 
them  with  sand  three  or  four  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  earth.  They  take  from 
their  store  at  need,  and  it  is  as  well  pre- 
served as  it  could  be  done  in  our  grana- 
ries.^ 

''Cedars. 

"The  Pilgrim  Fathers  found  such  stores.  Brad- 
ford writes:  "And  heaps  of  sand  newly  padled 
with  their  hands,  which  they  digging  up,  found  in 
them  diverce  faire  Indian  baskets  filled  with  come, 
and  some  in  eares,  faire  and  good,  of  diverce  col- 
lours."  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation,  ed.  1898, 
p.  99.  See  also  the  other  quotations  in  Voyages 
of  Champlain,  II,  121. 

126 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAAIPLAIN 

In  this  place  we  saw  some  five  or  six 
hundred  savages  who  were  all  naked,  ex- 
cept their  private  parts,  which  they  cover 
with  a  little  piece  of  doe-skin  or  seal-skin. 
The  women  also  cover  theirs  with  skins, 
or  white  leaves,  and  all  have  the  hair 
well  combed,  and  braided  in  various  ways, 
like  the  Choiiacoet'^  women,  and  are  well 
proportioned  in  their  bodies,  which  are 
olive-colored.  They  deck  themselves  with 
feathers,  shell  beads  and  other  gew-gaws, 
which  they  arrange  very  neatly  in  a 
sort  of  embroidery.  Their  arms  are  bows, 
arrows  and  clubs ;  and  they  are  not  so  much 
great  hunters  as  good  fishermen  and  hus- 
bandmen. 

As  to  what  their  regulations,  government 
and  belief  may  be,  I  have  only  been  able 
to  conjecture,  and  I  think  that  they  are  not 
diflferent,  in  these  respects,  from  our  Souri- 
quois  and  Canadian  savages  who  worship 
neither  the  sun,  nor  the  moon,  nor  anything 
else,  and  pray  no  more  than  the  beasts.  Still, 
they  have  among  them  some  persons  who, 
they  say,  have  an  understanding  with  the 
devil,  in  whom  they  have  great  faith,  who 
tell  them  everything  that  is  to  befall  them, 
although  lying  most  of  the  time.  They  hold 
them  as   prophets,  although  they   deceive 

^I.  e.,  the  Maine  Indians. 
127 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS  " 

them,  as  the  Eg}^ptians  and  Bohemians®  do 
the  simple  villagers.  They  have  chiefs 
whom  they  obey  in  questions  of  war,  but 
not  otherwise.  They  work  and  do  not  have 
any  higher  rank  than  their  companions. 

Their  habitations  are  separated  from  one 
another  according  to  the  land  that  each  caa 
occupy,  and  are  large,  made  circular,  cov- 
ered with  matting,  or  the  leaf  of  the  Indian 
corn.  They  are  furnished  only  with  a  bed 
or  two,  raised  a  foot  from  the  ground,  made 
of  a  number  of  pieces  of  wood  piled  one 
upon  another,  on  top  of  which  they  put  a 
reed  mat,  in  the  Spanish  fashion  (a  sort  of 
matting  two  or  three  fingers  thick),  on 
which  they  sleep.®  They  have  a  great 
many  fleas  in  summer,  even  in  the  fields. 
When  we  went  walking  we  were  so  cov- 
ered with  them  that  we  had  to  change  our 
clothes. 

All  the  harbors,  bays  and  shores  from 
Choiiacoet  are  filled  with  every  kind  of 
fish,  like  those  on  the  coasts  of  Acadie,  and 

^The  Gypsies.  Egyptians,  in  the  popular  form, 
"Gypsies"  came  to  be  the  common  English  name 
for  these  wandering  fortune-tellers,  while  in 
French  it  came  to  be  "Bohemians";  hence  the 
origin  of  "Bohemian"  in  the  sense  of  unconven- 
tional. 

°Cf.  the  quotations,  from  Gookin  and  Mourt's 
Relation,  in  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  125. 

128 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

in  such  abundance  that  I  can  assure  you 
that  there  was  not  a  day  or  a  night  when 
we  did  not  see  and  hear  pass  by  our  boat 
more  than  a  thousand  porpoises,  which  were 
chasing  the  small  fish.  There  is  also  a  quan- 
tity of  various  kinds  of  shellfish,  and  espe- 
cially oysters.  Game  birds  are  very  abun- 
dant there. 

It  would  be  a  very  suitable  place  for 
building  and  laying  the  foundations  of  a 
commonwealth,  if  the  harbor  were  a  little 
deeper  and  the  entrance  to  it  safer  than  it 
is.  It  was  named  Port  Fortune,^^  on  ac- 
count of  an  accident  that  happened  there. 
It  is  in  latitude  41 -|^  degrees  and  is  13 
leagues  from  Mallebarre.  We  saw  all 
the  surrounding  country,  which  is  very 
beautiful,  as  I  have  said  above,  and  we 
saw  a  great  many  little  houses  here  and 
there. 

Having  left  Port  Fortune,  and  gone  six 
or  seven  leagues,  we  sighted  an  island, 
which  we  named  La  Soupgonneuse,^^  be- 
cause from  a  distance  we  had  several  times 

^"Chatham.  Five  men  who  stayed  on  shore  over- 
night, contrary  to  Poutrincourt's  orders,  were  sur- 
prised by  the  Indians  and  several  of  them  killed. 
See  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  126-130.  Laver- 
diere.  Voyages,  1613,  105-107. 

"The  Doubtful,  Martha's  Vineyard.    S. 
129 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

thought  that  it  was  something  besides  an 
island.  Coasting  along  to  the  southwest 
nearly  twelve  leagues  we  passed  near  a 
river  which  is  very  small  and  difficult  to 
approach,  because  of  shallows  and  rocks  at 
its  mouth.  I  gave  it  my  name.^^  All  that 
we  saw  of  this  coast  consists  of  low  and 
sandy  lands,  which  are  not  lacking  in 
beauty  and  fertility,  although  hard  to  reach. 
There  are  no  shelters,  very  many  reefs,  and 
there  is  little  water  for  nearly  two  leagues 
from  the  land.  The  most  that  we  found 
was  seven  or  eight  fathoms  in  some  chan- 
nels, though  it  did  not  extend  more  than 
the  length  of  a  cable;  then  one  suddenly 
returned  to  two  or  three  fathoms.  No  one 
should  trust  himself  to  it  without  having 
become  very  familiar  with  it  by  taking 
soundings. 

These  are  all  the  coasts  that  we  explored, 
whether  inAcadie  or  among  the  Etechemins 
and  Almouchiquois.12  I  made  a  very  exact 
map  of  what  I  saw  of  them,  which  I  had 

"This  was  the  tidal  passage  commonly  called 
Wood's  Hole.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  those 
who  wished  to  get  rid  of  this  homely  name  should 
have  tried  to  transform  Hole  into  a  supposed 
Norse  "Holl,"  an  imaginary  relic  of  the  Norse^ 
men,  instead  of  trying  to  revive  this  earliest  au^ 
thentic  name,  Champlain  River. 

"I.  e.,  whether  in  Nova  Scotia  or  New  England. 
130 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

engraved  in  the  year  1604,^-^  and  it  has 
since  been  pubHshed  with  the  accounts  of 
my  first  voyages.^^ 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Discovery  from  Cape  la  Heve  to  Canseau,  very 
much  in  detail. 

Going  from  Cape  de  la  Heve^  to  Sesam- 
bre,^  which  is  an  island  so  called  by  some 
people  from  St.  Malo,  15  leagues  from 
La  Heve,  one  finds  a  great  many  islands, 
which  we  named  Les  Martyres,  because 
formerly  some  Frenchmen  were  killed  there 
by  the  savages.    These  islands  are  in  sev- 

"Evidently  copyist's  error.  No  doubt  the  map 
of  1612  is  meant,  which  is  reproduced  in  Voyages 
of  Champlain,  III,  228.  Slafter  calls  it  the  map  of 
1613,  but  the  date  on  the  map  is  1612. 

"Champlain  omits  here  the  account  of  the  re- 
turn voyage,  of  the  winter  of  1606-07  at  Port 
Royal,  of  which  Lescarbot  has  given  such  an  en- 
tertaining account,  and  of  the  following  spring 
and  summer  until  about  the  middle  of  August, 
1607.  See  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  132-150. 
Laverdiere,  Voyages,  161 3,  108-126. 

^Champlain  left  Port  Royal  August  1 1,  1607, 
but  he  does  not  begin  his  description  in  this  narra- 
tive until  he  strikes  new  ground,  going  east  on 
the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia. 

'Now  Sambro.    S. 

131 


'  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

eral  inlets  and  bays.  In  one  of  them  there 
is  a  river  called  Ste.  Alarguerite,^  seven 
leagues  from  Sesambre,  in  latitude  44°  25'. 
The  coasts  and  islands  are  covered  with  a 
great  many  pines,  firs,  birches  and  other 
poor  kinds  of  trees.  Fishing  is  abundant 
and  also  bird-hunting. 

From  Sesambre  we  passed  a  very  safe 
bay  of  about  seven  or  eight  leagues  in  ex- 
tent, with  no  islands  in  it,  except  at  the  bot- 
tom, where  there  is  the  mouth  of  a  little 
river  with  not  much  water  in  it.*  Then, 
heading  northeast  by  east,  we  came  to  a  har- 
bor eight  leagues  from  Sesambre,  which  is 
quite  good  for  ships  of  100  to  120  tons. 
At  its  mouth  there  is  an  island,  from  which, 
at  low  tide,  one  can  go  to  the  mainland.  We 
named  this  place  Port  Ste.  Heleine.^  It  is 
in  latitude  44°  40',  a  little  more  or  less. 

From  this  place  we  went  to  a  bay  called 
The  Bay  of  All  Islands,  which  has  an  area 
of  perhaps  14  or  15  leagues,^  dangerous 
places  on  account  of  the  sand-bars,  shal- 
lows and  reefs  that  are  there.  The  country 
looks  very  poor,  being  filled  with  the  same 
kinds  of  wood  that  I  have  mentioned  above, 

'The  name  still  survives. 
^Halifax  Harbor. 
^Perpisawick  Inlet.    S. 

*Nicomtau  Bay  and  the  islands  in  and  near  it. 
132 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

From  there  we  went  along  to  near  a  river 
six  leagues  distant,  which  is  called  Green 
Island  River,  because  it  has  one  at  its 
mouth/  This  short  stretch  that  we  went 
was  filled  with  a  great  many  rocks  jutting 
almost  a  league  into  the  sea,  where  the  wa- 
ter breaks  a  great  deal.     It  is  in  latitude 

45i^ 

From  there  we  went  to  a  place  where 
there  is  a  bay  and  two  or  three  islands,  and 
a  rather  fine  harbor,^  three  leagues  from 
Green  Island.  We  also  passed  several  isl- 
ands that  are  in  a  row,  and  named  them 
Les  Isles  Rangees.  They  are  six  or  seven 
leagues  from  Green  Island.  After  this  we 
passed  by  another  bay,*  where  there  are 
several  islands,  and  went  as  far  as  a  place 
where  we  found  a  ship  which  was  fishing 
among  some  islands  that  are  somewhat 
distant  from  the  shore,  four  leagues  from 
Les  Isles  Rangees.  We  called  this  place 
Savalette  Harbor,^*  from  the  captain  of  the 
boat  that  was  fishing.   He  was  a  Basque. 

Leaving  this  place  we  arrived  at  Canseau^^ 

'The  River  St.  Mary  and  Wedge  Island.  L. 

^Country  Harbor. 

»Tor  Bay. 

"White  Haven. 

"Spelled  Canseau  by  Champlain  in  1632  and 
Campseau  in  1613.  The  modern  English  form  is 
Canso. 

133 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

on  the  27th  of  the  month.^^  It  is  distant 
from  Savalette  Harbor  six  leagues,  in 
which  space  we  passed  a  great  many  isl- 
ands before  we  reached  Canseau.  The  rasp- 
berries on  them  were  plentiful  beyond  de- 
scription. 

All  the  shores  that  we  coasted  along,  from 
Cape  Sable  to  this  place,  consist  of  moder- 
ately high  land  and  cliffs ;  for  the  most  part 
places  bordered  by  a  number  of  islands  and 
reefs  which  jut  out  into  the  sea  sometimes 
nearly  two  leagues.  They  are  very  bad  for 
ships  to  approach ;  nevertheless,  there  is  no 
lack  of  good  harbors  and  roadsteads  along 
these  coasts  and  islands.  As  for  the  land, 
it  is  worse  and  more  disagreeable  than  in 
other  places  that  we  had  seen,  except  about 
some  rivers  and  brooks  where  the  country 
is  rather  pleasant.  In  these  places  the  win- 
ter must  be  cold,  and  it  lasts  almost  six 
months. 

This  port  of  Canseau  is  among  islands, 
and  it  is  very  hard  of  approach,  if  the 
weather  is  not  good,  on  account  of  the  rocks 
and  reefs  all  about. 

From  this  place  to  the  Island  of  Cape  Bre- 
ton, which  is  in  latitude  45|°,  and  14°  50' 

"August.  Champlain  omits  here  the  meeting 
with  Champdore  and  Lescarbot  at  Canseau,  Voy- 
ages of  Champlain,  II,  154. 

134 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

of  the  variation  of  the  needle,  it  is  eight 
leagues;  and  to  Cape  Breton  25  leagues. 
Between  the  two  there  is  a  large  bay  en- 
tering about  nine  or  ten  leagues  into  the 
land.  It  makes  a  passage  between  the  Isl- 
and of  Cape  Breton  and  the  mainland, 
which  extends  to  the  great  Bay  of  Saint 
Lawrence,  by  which  one  goes  to  Gaspe  and 
Isle  Percee,  where  there  is  fishing.  This 
passage  by  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton  is 
very  narrow.  Large  ships  do  not  go 
through  it  at  all,  although  there  is  enough 
water  there,  because  of  the  great  currents 
and  the  violence  of  the  tides.  We  named 
this  place  Running  Passage.^^  It  is  m  lati- 
tude 451°. 

This  Cape  Breton  Island  is  triangular  in 
form,  80  leagues  in  circumference,  and  is, 
for  the  most  part,  mountainous  land,  yet 
in  some  places  pleasant.  In  the  middle  of 
it  there  is  a  sort  of  lake,^*  where  the  sea 
enters  from  the  north  a  quarter  northeast 
and  from  the  south  a  quarter  southeast,^'' 

"Le  Passage  Courante:  the  Gut  or  Strait  of 
Canso. 

"Great  Bras  d'or  Lake. 

"That  is,  the  northern  entrance  lies  north  by  east 
and  the  southern  south  by  east.  There  is  no  natu- 
ral entrance  at  the  south,  but  one  has  been  made 
by  digging  a  canal  through  the  narrow  Isthmus  of 
St.  Peter's. 

135 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

and  there  are  many  islands  filled  with  a 
great  deal  of  game,  and  shellfish  of  several 
kinds;  among  others,  oysters  which  have 
not  much  flavor.  In  this  place  there  are 
several  harbors  and  places  for  fishing, 
namely,  English  Harbor,^^  two  or  three 
leagues  from  Cape  Breton;  and  the  other, 
Niganis,  i8  or  20  leagues  farther  north. 
The  Portuguese  formerly  wished  to  inhabit 
this  island,  and  passed  a  winter  there,  but 
the  severity  of  the  weather  and  the  cold 
made  them  abandon  their  settlement.^^* 
When  I  had  seen  all  these  things  I  returned 
to  France,  having  spent  four  years  equally 
divided  between  the  settlement  at  St.  Croix 
and  Port  Royal." 

"Later  named  Louisbourg. 

"♦Possibly  at  the  time  of  the  exploration  of 
Fagundes,  1521.  See  Harrisse,  Discovery  of  North 
America,  182,  ff. 

"More  exactly  three  years  and  four  months 
from  May,  1604,  to  September,  1607. 


EI36 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

BOOK    III 

CHAPTER    I 

Voyages  of  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt  in  New 
France,  where  he  left  his  son,  Sieur  de  Biencourt. 
The  Jesuit  fathers  who  were  sent  there,  and  their 
progress  in  making  the  Christian  faith  flourish.^ 

The  late  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt,  the  elder, 
having  obtained  a  grant  from  Sieur  de 
Monts,  in  virtue  of  his  commission,  of  some 
lands  adjacent  to  Port  Royal,  which  he  had 
abandoned,  the  settlement  remaining  in  his 
right,  this  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt  made  ev- 
ery endeavor  to  settle  it  and  left  there  his 
son,  Sieur  de  Biencourt,  whom,  while  he 
was  considering  how  to  establish  himself 
there,  the  people  of  Rochelle  and  the 
Basques  assisted  in  most  of  his  expeditions, 
in  the  hope  of  getting  furs  by  this  means. 
But  his  plan  did  not  succeed  as  he  wished, 
for  the  very  charitable  Madame  de  Guer- 
cheville  interfered  in  this  matter,  in  kind- 
ness and  consideration  toward  the  Jesuit 
fathers.   This  is  the  account  of  it. 

This  Sieur  Jean  de  Poutrincourt,  before 

*In  his  account  of  these  events  Champlain  fol- 
lowed very  closely  Father  Biard's  Relation  de  la 
Nouvelle  France,  etc.,  Lyons,  1616,  for  which  see 
Thwaites's  Jesuit  Relations,  vols,  iii  and  iv. 

U7 


yOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

Sieur  de  Monts  left  New  France,  asked  him 
for  Port  Royal  as  a  grant.  This  he  be- 
stowed upon  him,  on  condition  that  within 
the  following  two  years  this  Sieur  de  Pou- 
trincourt  should  go  there  himself  with  sev- 
eral other  families,  to  cultivate  and  settle 
the  country;  which  he  promised  to  do  in 
the  year  1607.  The  late  King  Henry  the 
Great  ratified  and  confirmed  this  grant  and 
told  tlie  late  Reverend  Father  Coton  that 
he  wished  to  make  use  of  their  company  for 
the  conversion  of  savages,  promising  two 
thousand  livres  for  their  maintenance. 
Father  Coton  obeyed  the  commandment  of 
His  Majesty;  and  among  others  of  their 
fathers  Father  Biard  presented  himself  to 
be  employed  in  so  holy  a  voyage;  and  in 
the  year  1608  he  was  sent  to  Bordeaux, 
where  he  remained  a  long  time  without 
hearing  anything  further  of  the  expedition 
to  Canada. 

In  the  year  1609  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt 
arrived  at  Paris.  The  King  having  been  in- 
formed of  it,  and  knowing  that  contrary  to 
His  Majesty's  expectations,  he  had  not 
stirred  from  France,  was  very  much  vexed 
with  him.  In  order  to  please  His  Majesty, 
he  equipped  himself  for  the  voyage.  Upon 
this  resolution  Father  Coton  offered  to  give 
him  some  monks.    Then  Sieur  de  Poutrin- 

138 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

court  told  him  that  it  would  be  better  to 
wait  until  the  next  year,  promising  that  as 
soon  as  he  should  arrive  at  Port  Royal  he 
would  send  back  his  son,  with  whom  the 
Jesuit  fathers  could  come. 

In  fact,  in  the  year  1610,  this  Sieur  de 
Poutrincourt  set  out  at  the  end  of  Febru- 
ary and  reached  Port  Royal  in  the  month 
of  June  following,  where,  having  assembled 
as  many  savages  as  he  could,  he  had  about 
twenty-five  of  them  baptized  on  Saint  John 
the  Baptist's  Day  [June  24]  by  a  priest 
called  Messire  Josue  Fleche,  surnamed  The 
Patriarch. 

A  little  while  afterward  he  sent  Sieur  de 
Biencourt,  his  son,  aged  19,  back  to  France 
to  carry  the  good  news  of  the  baptism  o£ 
the  savages,  and  to  arrange  that  he  should 
soon  be  assisted  with  provisions,  with  which 
he  was  ill-supplied,  to  pass  the  winter 
there.^ 

The  Reverend  Father  Christofle  Baltha- 
zar, Provincial,  commissioned  the  fathers 
Pierre  Biard  and  Remond  Masse  to  go  with 
Sieur  de  Biencourt.  The  King — Louis  the 
Just — caused  to  be  delivered  to  them  five 
hundred  crowns  promised  by  the  King,  his 
father,  and  several  rich  ornaments  given  by 

*To  see  how  closely  Champlain  followed  Biard's 
Relation,  cf.  Jesuit  Relations,  III,  615. 

139 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

Madame  de  Guercheville  and  Madame  de 
Sourdis.  When  they  arrived  at  Dieppe 
there  was  some  discussion  among  the 
Jesuit  fathers  and  the  merchants,  which 
caused  the  fathers  to  retire  to  their  College 
of  Eu. 

When  Madame  de  Guercheville  knew 
this,  she  was  very  indignant  that  the  trades- 
men had  been  so  presumptuous  as  to  have 
offended  and  thwarted  these  fathers,  and 
said  that  they  ought  to  be  punished;  but 
their  only  chastisement  lay  in  their  not  be- 
ing admitted  to  the  expedition.  And,  know- 
ing that  the  equipment  would  not  go  above 
four  thousand  livres,  she  took  up  a  collec- 
tion in  the  court,  and  by  this  kind  action 
she  got  that  sum,  with  which  she  paid  the 
merchants  who  had  troubled  these  fathers, 
and  cut  them  off  from  all  association  with 
them;  and,  with  the  rest  of  this  sum  and 
other  large  property,  she  established  a  fund 
for  the  maintenance  of  these  fathers,  not 
wishing  them  to  be  a  charge  to  Sieur  de 
Poutrincourt.  She  also  arranged  that  the 
profits  that  came  from  furs  and  fish,  which 
the  ship  should  bring  back,  should  not  re- 
vert to  the  benefit  of  the  associates  and 
other  merchants,  but  should  go  back  to 
Canada,  in  the  possession  of  Sieur  Robin 
and  Sieur  de  Biencourt,  who  should  use  it 

140 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

for   the   support   of   Port   Royal   and  the 
French  who  were  living  there. 

In  reference  to  this  it  was  decided  and 
ordained  that  since  this  money  of  Madame 
de  Guercheville  had  been  designed  for  the 
benefit  of  Canada,  the  Jesuits  should  take 
part  in  the  profits  of  the  association  of  Sieur 
Robin  and  Sieur  de  Biencourt,  and  share 
them  with  them. 

It  was  this  contract  of  partnership  that 
spread  about  so  many  rumors,  complaints 
and  outcries  against  the  Jesuit  fathers,  who, 
in  that  and  everything  else,  are  justly  gov- 
erned according  to  God  and  to  reason,  to 
the  shame  and  confusion  of  those  who  envy 
and  malign  them. 

On  January  26,  161 1,  the  same  fathers 
embarked  with  this  Sieur  de  Biencourt, 
whom  they  helped  with  money  to  get  the 
ship  off,  and  to  alleviate  the  great  want 
that  they  experienced  in  this  voyage ;  since, 
in  coasting  along  the  shores,  they  stopped 
and  sojourned  in  several  places  before  ar- 
riving at  Port  Royal,  which  wa^  on  June 
12,  1611,^  Whitsunday;  and  during  this 
voyage  these  fathers  had  a  great  scarcity 
of  provisions,  and  of  other  things,  accord- 
ing to  the  accounts  of  the  pilot,  David  de 
Bruges,  and  the  captain,  Jean  Daune — both 

"The  correct  date  is  May  22.  L. 
141 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

of  them  of  the  so-called  reformed  religion 
— who  confessed  that  they  found  these  good 
fathers  quite  different  from  what  they  had 
been  described. 

Sieur  de  Poutrincourt,  desiring  to  return 
to  France,  to  order  his  affairs  better,  left 
his  son,  Sieur  de  Biencourt,  and  the  Jesuit 
fathers  behind  him.  Altogether,  they  num- 
bered about  twenty  persons.  He  left  there 
in  the  middle  of  July  of  the  same  year, 
1611,  and  arrived  in  France  at  the  end  of 
the  month  of  August. 

During  the  winter  this  Sieur  de  Bien- 
court caused  annoyances  to  the  people  of 
the  son  of  Pontgrave,  whose  name  was 
Robert  Grave,  whom  he  treated  pretty  bad- 
ly; but,  at  last,  through  the  efforts  of  the 
Jesuit  fathers,  everything  was  pacified,  and 
they  remained  good  friends. 

As  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt  was  seeking  in 
France  every  means  of  aiding  his  son, 
Madame  de  Guercheville,  who  was  pious, 
virtuous  and  very  much  devoted  to  the  con- 
version of  the  savages,  having  already  col- 
lected some  funds,  communicated  with  him 
in  regard  to  the  matter,  and  said  that  she 
would  very  gladly  join  the  company,  and 
that  she  would  send  some  Jesuit  fathers 
with  him  for  the  aid  of  Canada. 

The  contract  of  partnership  was  approved, 
142 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

this  lady  being  empowered  by  her  husband. 
Monsieur  de  Liencour,  first  Equerry  of  the 
King  and  Governor  of  Paris.  By  the 
contract  it  was  fixed  that  she  should,  at 
this  time,  give  a  thousand  crowns  for  the 
cargo  of  a  ship,  provided  that  she  should 
share  the  profit  that  this  voyage  should 
yield,  and  of  the  lands  that  the  King  had. 
given  to  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt,  as  set  down 
in  the  original  of  the  contract.  This  Sieur' 
de  Poutrincourt  reserved  for  himself  Port 
Royal,  and  its  lands;  not  intending  that 
they  should  be  included  in  the  common 
stock  of  the  other  lordships,  capes,  har- 
bors and  provinces  that  he  said  he  had  in 
this  country  near  Port  Royal.  This  lady 
requested  him  to  produce  titles  to  show  that 
these  lordships  and  lands  belonged  to  him 
and  how  he  possessed  so  large  a  domain. 
But  he  excused  himself  by  saying  that  his 
titles  and  papers  were  in  New  France. 

When  this  lady  heard  this,  as  she  was 
suspicious  of  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt,  and 
wished  to  guard  herself  against  being  taken 
by  surprise,  she  made  a  contract  with  Sieur 
de  Monts  that  he  should  cede  back  to  her 
all  the  rights,  deeds  and  claims  that  he  had, 
or  ever  had  had,  in  New  France,  derived 
from  the  gift  made  him  by  the  late  Henry 
the  Great.     Madame  de  Guercheville  ob- 

143 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

tained  letters  from  His  Majesty,  now  reign- 
ing, in  which  the  gift  was  made  anew  to 
her  of  all  the  lands  of  New  France  from 
the  great  river  as  far  as  Florida,  excepting 
only  Port  Royal,  which  was  what  Sieur  de 
Poutrincourt  possessed  then,  and  nothing 
else. 

This  lady  gave  money  to  the  Jesuit  fa- 
thers to  put  into  the  hands  of  some  mer- 
chant at  Dieppe,  but  this  Sieur  de  Poutrin- 
court inveigled  these  same  fathers  into  giv- 
ing him  four  hundred  of  this  thousand 
crowns. 

He  sent,  in  charge  of  this  expedition,  an 
employee  of  his  called  Simon  Imbert  San- 
drier,  who  acquitted  himself  rather  badly  in 
the  management  of  this  equipped  and 
freighted  ship.  He  left  Dieppe  December 
31,  in  the  height  of  winter,  and  reached 
Port  Royal  January  27,,  the  next  year,  1612. 

Sieur  de  Biencourt  was  very  glad,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  see  fresh  aid  coming;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  he  was  annoyed  that  Ma- 
dame de  Guercheville  was  out  of  the  com- 
pany,* according  to  what  this  Imbert  told 

^Madame  de  Guercheville  through  acquiring  De 
Monts's  titles  and  through  the  king's  grant  had 
become  the  proprietary  of  all  the  northeastern 
coast  with  the  exception  of  Port  Royal,  an  acces- 
sion of  power  which  superseded  the  partnership 
>vith  Poutrincourt. 

144 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

him.  He  was  also  disturbed  by  complaints 
that  the  Jesuit  fathers  made  to  him  of  the 
bad  management  of  this  expedition  by  this 
Imbert,  who  wrongfully  and  without  cause 
accused  the  fathers.  Nevertheless,  they 
oblisred  him  to  confess  that  he  was 
fooling  when  he  spoke  to  this  Sieur  de 
Biencourt.^ 

At  last,  all  these  matters  having  quieted 
down  and  been  pardoned,  Father  Masse, 
who  was  with  the  savages  to  learn  their 
language,  became  ill  in  a  place  where  he 
was  in  great  want,  for  everything  was 
in  disorder  in  this  settlement.  Father 
Biard  lived  at  Port  Royal,  where  he 
suffered  great  fatigue  and  great  want 
during  several  days,  being  compelled  to 
collect  some  acorns  and  roots  for  his 
Sustenance. 

Meanwhile,  they  were  fitting  out  a  ves- 
sel in  France  to  withdraw  the  Jesuits  from 
Port  Royal,  and  found  a  new  settlement  in 
another  place.  The  captain  of  this  vessel 
was  La  Saussaye,  who  had  with  him  thirty 
persons  who  were  to  winter  there,  includ- 
ing two  Jesuits  and  their  servants,  who 
were  to  land  at  Port  Royal.  He  already 
had  with  him  two  other  Jesuit  fathers, 
namely :  Father  Quentin  and  Father  Gilbert 

"Cf.  Biard  in  Jesuit  Relations,  III,  239-243. 
145 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

du  Thet,  but  they  were  to  go  back  to  France 
with  the  crew,  which  numbered  38.  The 
Queen  had  contributed  to  the  expense  for 
arms,  powder  and  ammunition.  The  ship 
was  100  tons  burden.  It  left  Honfleur 
March  12,  in  the  year  161 3,  and  reached 
La  Heve,  in  Acadie,  May  16,  where  they 
set  up  the  arms  of  Madame  de  Guercheville 
as  a  sign  of  possession.  They  came  to  Port 
Royal,  where  they  found  only  five  persons 
— two  Jesuit  fathers,  Hebert,  an  apothecary 
(who  took  the  place  of  Sieur  de  Biencourt 
while  he  went  to  a  long  distance  to  look  for 
provisions),  and  two  other  persons.  It  was 
to  him  that  they  presented  the  letters  from 
the  Queen  to  release  the  fathers  and  per- 
mit them  to  go  wherever  it  seemed  good  to 
them ;  which  was  done,  and  these  fathers 
withdrew  their  goods  from  the  country  and 
left  some  provisions  to  this  Hebert,  so  that 
he  should  not  be  in  need. 

They  went  from  this  place,  and  settled 
the  desert  mountains  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Pemetegoet^  River.  The  pilot  reached  the 
coast  on  the  east  of  the  Island  of  Mount 
Desert,^  where  the  fathers  stayed,  and  they 
gave  thanks  to  God,  erecting  a  cross,  and 
had  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass ;  and  this 

'Penobscot. 
,     ''L'isle  des  Monts  Deserts. 

146 


SAMUEL  DE  CHAMPLAIN 

place  was  named  St.  Sauveur."  It  is  iti 
latitude  44I.  degrees. 

They  had  scarcely  begun  to  settle  them- 
selves there,  and  to  clear  the  land,  when  the 
English  appeared  and  gave  them  something 
fluite  different  to  be  concerned  about. 

Ever  since  the  EngHsh  had  established 
themselves  in  Virginia,  in  order  to  provide 
themselves  with  codfish  they  had  been  ac- 
customed to  come  to  fish  sixteen  leagues 
from  the  Island  of  Mount  Desert;  and,  ar- 
riving there  for  this  purpose  in  the  year 
16 1 3,  they  were  caught  by  the  fogs  and  cast 
up  on  the  shores  of  the  savages  of  Pemete- 
goet,  who,  supposing  them  to  be  French, 
told  them  that  there  were  others  of  them 
at  St.  Sauveur.  The  EngUsh  being  in  need 
of  provisions,  and  all  the  men  in  poor  con- 
dition, ragged  and  half-naked,  found  out 
all  they  could  about  the  strength  of  these 
Frenchmen;  and  having  got  a  response  in 
accordance  with  their  desire,  they  went 
straight  to  them  and  made  ready  to  fight 
them.  The  Frenchmen,  seeing  a  single  ship 
at  full  sail  approaching,  without  knowing 
that  ten  others  were  near  by,  recognized 
that  it  was  English.    Immediately  Sieur  de 

^Frenchman's  Bay.  Parkman,  Pioneers  of 
France,  302.  Cf.  Biard's  Relation,  Jesuit  Rela- 
tions, III,  265. 

147 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

la  Llotte  le  ViHn,  Lieutenant  Saussaye  and 
some  others  ru-hed  on  board  their  ship  to 
defend  it.  La  ^'aussaye  remained  on  shore 
with  most  of  his  men;  but,  in  the  end,  the 
EngHsh,  being  stronger  than  the  French, 
after  some  fighting  took  our  men.  The 
English  numbered  60  soldiers  and  had  14 
pieces  of  cannon.  In  this  fight  Gilbert  du 
Thet  was  killed  by  a  musket  shot;  some 
others  Avere  wounded  and  the  rest  were 
captured,  except  Lamets  and  four  others 
who  ran  away.  Afterward  they  went  aboard 
the  French  ship,  took  possession  of  it,  pil- 
laged what  they  found  there  and  took  away 
the  commission  of  the  King  which  La  Saus- 
saye had  in  his  chest.  The  captain  who 
commanded  this  ship  was  named  Samuel 
Argall. 

Tlie  enemy  went  ashore  and  hunted  for 
La  Saussaye,  who  had  fled  to  the  woods. 
The  next  day  he  came  to  find  the  English- 
man, who  received  him  kindly.  Being  asked 
for  his  commission  he  went  to  his  chest  to 
get  it,  believing  that  it  had  not  been  opened. 
He  found  there  all  his  clothes  and  conveni- 
ences, except  the  commission,  which  greatly 
astcni-^.ied  him.  And  then  the  EngHshman, 
feign' ng  indignation,  said  to  him:  "What? 
You  ;,ave  us  to  understand  that  you  had  a 
comn  icsion  from  the  King,  your  master, 

148 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

and  cannot  produce  it?  Then  you  are  out- 
laws and  pirates  who  deserve  death/* 
Thereupon  the  English  divided  the  plunder 
among  themselves. 

The  Jesuit  fathers,  seeing  the  danger  to 
which  the  French  were  exposed,  labored 
with  Argall  until  they  succeeded  in  pacify- 
ing the  English,  and  Father  Biard,  by, 
strong  arguments,  proved  to  him  that  all 
their  men  were  people  of  substance,  and 
recommended  by  His  Most  Christian 
Majesty.  The  Englishman  made  believe 
that  he  agreed  with  him,  and  accepted  the 
arguments  of  the  fathers,  and  they  said  to 
Sieur  de  la  Saussaye :  'Tt  is  altogether  your 
fault  to  let  your  letters  get  lost  in  that  way.'* 
And  afterward  they  had  these  same  fathers 
to  dine  at  their  table. 

There  was  talk  of  sending  the  French- 
men back  to  France,  but  they  did  not  wish 
to  give  them  anything  but  a  shallop  for  the 
thirty  of  them,  to  go  in  search  of  a  passage 
along  the  coast.  The  fathers  explained  to 
them  that  it  was  impossible  for  a  shallop 
to  suffice  to  carry  them  without  danger. 
And  then  Argall  said :  *T  have  found  an- 
other device  to  take  them  to  Virginia.'* 
The  workmen  were  promised  that  they 
should  not  be  forced  in  point  of  religion, 
and  that  after  one  year  of   service  they; 

149 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

should  be  sent  back  to  France,  and  three  of 
them  accepted  this  offer.  Sieur  de  la  Motte, 
also,  had  consented,  from  the  beginning,  to 
go  to  Virginia  with  this  English  captain, 
who  honored  him  because  he  had  found  him 
doing  his  duty ;  and  he  allowed  him  to  take 
some  of  his  men  with  him  and  Father  Bi- 
ard;  that  they  should  be  four,  namely, 
two  fathers  and  two  others,  and  that  they 
should  be  taken  to  the  islands  where 
the  English  fish  for  cod,  and  that  he 
should  give  orders  to  them  that  by  their 
means  he^  could  pass  over  to  France. 
This  the  English  captain  granted  him 
Tery  willingly. 

In  this  way  it  was  possible  for  the  shal- 
lop to  carry  the  men  divided  into  three  com- 
panies. Fifteen  were  with  the  pilot  who 
had  got  away,  fifteen  with  the  Englishman, 
and  fifteen  in  the  shallop  that  had  been 
given,  in  which  Father  Masse  was;  and  it 
was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  La  Saus- 
saye,  and  this  same  Father  Masse,  with 
some  provisions ;  but  there  were  no  sailors. 
By  good  fortune  the  pilot  met  it,  which  was 
a  great  benefit  to  them,  and  they  went  as 
far  as  Sesambre,  beyond  La  Heve,  where 
Robert  Grave's  ship  and  another  ship  were. 

•It  should  be  "they."  Cf.  the  passage  in  Biard's 
Jielation,  Jesuit  Relations,  iv,  22,  23. 

150 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAAIPLAIN 

They  divided  the  Frenchmen  into  two  com- 
panies, to  take  them  over  to  France,  and 
arrived  at  St.  Malo  without  having  run 
any  risk  from  storms. 

Captain  Argall  took  the  fifteen  French- 
men and  the  Jesuit  fathers  to  Virginia. 
When  they  got  there  the  head  man  of  the 
place,  called  the  JNIarshal,  the  military  com- 
mander of  the  country,  threatened  to  put 
the  fathers  and  all  the  Frenchmen  to  death, 
but  Argall  opposed  him  with  all  his  power, 
saying  that  he  had  given  them  his  word. 
And,  seeing  that  he  was  too  weak  to  sus- 
tain and  defend  them,  he  resolved  to  show 
the  commissions  that  he  had  taken;  and 
when  the  Marshal  saw  them  he  was  ap- 
peased, and  promised  tliat  the  word  that 
had  been  given  them  should  be  kept  to 
them. 

This  Marshal  assembled  his  council  and 
resolved  to  go  to  the  coast  of  Acadie,  and 
there  to  raze  all  the  habitations  and  for- 
tresses as  far  as  latitude  46°,  with  the  pre- 
tence that  all  that  country  belonged  to 
him.i<> 

^"Biard  adds  that  Argall  was  instructed  to  hang 
La  Saussaye  and  his  men.  Jesuit  Relations,  iv, 
34,  35.  This  order  of  Dale's  may  be  compared  with 
the  destruction  of  the  French  in  Florida  by  Men- 
endez,  except  that  Menendez  acted  under  instruc- 

151 


■  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

! 

Upon  this  resolution  of  the  Marshal,  Ar- 
gall  resumed  his  course  with  three  vessels, 
divided  the  Frenchmen  among  them  and 
returned  to  St.  Sauveur.  He  thought  he 
should  find  La  Saussaye  there,  and  a  ship 
recently  arrived,  but  he  learned  that  he  had 
returned  to  France.  They  set  up  a  cross 
there,  in  place  of  that  which  the  fathers  had 
placed  there,  which  they  broke  down,  and 
on  theirs  they  inscribed  the  name  of  the 
King  of  Great  Britain,  for  whom  they  took 
possession  of  this  place. 

Then  they  went  to  St.  Croix,  which  he 
burned.  He  also  took  away  all  the  land- 
marks that  were  there,  and  carried  off  a 
supply  of  salt  that  they  found  in  it.^^ 

Afterward  he  went  to  Port  Royal,  guided 
by  a  savage  whom  he  took  by  force,  the 
Frenchmen  being  unwilling  to  direct  him. 
He  went  ashore,  made  an  entrance,  saw  the 
dwelling  and,  not  finding  any  one  in  it, 
took  what  there  was  of  plunder,  had  it 
burned,  and  in  two  hours  the  whole 
was  in  ashes.  And  he  took  all  the  land- 
marks   that    the    French    had    put    there, 

tions  from  the  King,  while  it  is  hard  to  see  any 
basis,   whatever,   of    authority  for  Dale's  action. 
Cf.    Parkman's    strong  expressions,   Pioneers   of 
New  France,  312-13. 
"Cf.  Biard,  Jesuit  Relations,  iv,  27- 
152 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

so  that  those  who  were  there  were  forced 
to  abandon  this  abode  and  go  with  the 
savages. 

A  wicked  and  unnatural  Frenchman,  who 
was  with  those  who  escaped  into  the  woods, 
approaching  the  edge  of  the  water,  shouted 
loudly  and  demanded  that  they  should 
parley.  This  was  granted  him,  and  then  he 
said :  ''I  was  surprised  that,  since  there  is 
with  you  a  Spanish  Jesuit,  named  Father 
Biard,  you  do  not  put  him  to  death  for  a 
bad  man  who  will  do  you  harm  if  he  can, 
if  you  let  him."  Is  it  possible  that  the 
French  nation  produces  such  monsters  of 
men,  so  detestable  as  sowers  of  calumnious 
falsehoods,  in  order  to  make  these  good 
fathers  lose  their  lives? 

The  English  left  Port  Royal  Novembein 
9,  1613.  In  this  voyage  the  winds  and 
storms  were  such  that  the  three  ships  got 
separated  from  one  another.  The  bark  in 
which  there  were  six  Englishmen  could  not 
be  recovered  afterward,  but  Captain  Ar- 
gall's  ship  reached  Virginia.  He  informed 
him^2  who  Father  Biard  was  and  he^^  took 
him  to  be  a  Spaniard,  and  was  waiting  for 

*'I.  e.,  Argall  told  Dale,  the  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia. See  Biard's  Relation,  Jesuit  Relations,  iv, 
52,  53- 

"I.  e.,  Governor  Dale. 

153 


'  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

him  to  put  him  to  death.^*  He^^  was  then  in 
the  third  vessel,  which  was  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  captain  named  Turnel,  a  mortal 
enemy  of  the  Jesuits ;  and  this  vessel  was  so 
beaten  about  by  the  southwest  wind  that, 
bearing  off  to  the  east,  he  was  obliged  to 
stand  for  the  Azores,  500  leagues  from  Vir- 
ginia. They  now  killed  all  the  horses  that 
had  been  taken  from  Port  Royal,  which 
they  ate  in  lieu  of  other  provisions.  At 
last  they  reached  an  island  of  the  Azores, 
and  then  he  said  to  the  father:  "God  is 
provoked  with  us,  and  not  with  you,^®  for 
the  evil  that  we  have  made  you  suffer  un- 
justly. But  I  am  surprised  that  Frenchmen 
off  there  in  the  woods,  in  the  midst  of  so 
much  misery  and  apprehension,  should  have 
spread  the  rumor  that  you  are  Spanish ;  and 
they  not  only  said  it  and  assured  us  of  it, 
but  they  signed  the  statement." 

"Monsieur,"  said  the  father,  "you  know 
that,  in  spite  of  all  the  calumnies  and  slan- 

"This  sentence  is  very  blind  in  the  French.  It 
has  been  interpreted  in  the  light  of  Biard's  Rela- 
tion, from  which  the  story  was  hastily  compiled. 

"I.  e.,  Father  Biard. 

"The  French  reads  here  "et  nous  contra 
vous"  (and  we  with  you).  Biard's  text  has  "mais 
non  pas  contre  vous."  It  is  evident  that  the  copy- 
ist, or  compositor,  substituted  "nous"  for  "non 
pas."    Cf.  Jesuit  Relations,  iv,  56,  57. 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

ders,  I  never  spoke  ill  of  those  who  accused 
me;  you  are  witness  of  the  patience  that  I 
have  had  in  the  face  of  such  adversity,  but 
God  knows  the  truth.  Not  only  have  I 
never  been  in  Spain,  nor  has  any  of  my 
relatives,  but  I  am  a  good  and  loyal  French- 
man in  the  service  of  God,  and  of  my  King, 
and  I  shall  always  show,  at  the  peril  of  my 
life,  that  they  are  wrong  who  slander  me, 
and  who  call  me  Spanish.  God  forgive 
them,  and  may  He  be  pleased  to  deliver  us 
from  their  hands,  and  you  particularly,  for 
our  good,  and  let  us  forget  the  past." 

Then  they  went  to  anchor  in  the  road- 
stead of  the  island  of  Fayal,  which  is  one  of 
the  Azores ;  but  they  were  obliged  to  anchor 
in  this  harbor^^  and  to  hide  the  fathers  in. 
some  place  in  the  hold  of  the  ship, 
and  make  them  give  their  word  that  they 
would  not  reveal  themselves,  which  they; 
promised. 

■  The  ship  was  inspected  by  the  Portu- 
guese, who  went  down  where  the  fathers 
were.  The  latter  saw  them  without  mak- 
ing any  sign ;  and,  nevertheless,  if  they  had 
made  themselves  known  to  the  Portuguese, 
they  would  have  been  delivered  at  once, 
and    all    the    Ensflish    would    have    been 


171 


^I.  e.,  they  finally  had  to  enter  the  harbor,  in- 
stead of  anchoring  outside  in  the  roadstead. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

hanged ;  but  these  inspectors,  as  a  result  of 
not  looking  carefully,  did  not  see  the  Jesuit 
fathers  at  all,  and  went  back  to  land;  and 
thus  the  English  were  delivered  from  the 
danger  in  which  they  were  of  being 
hanged.  They  went  to  fetch  all  that  they 
needed,  then  weighed  anchor,  put  to  sea, 
and  expressed  many  thanks  to  the  fathers, 
whom  they  caressed;  and,  no  longer  think- 
ing them  Spanish,  they  treated  them  as 
kindly  as  possible ;  they  admired  their  great 
constancy  and  virtue  in  enduring  the  things 
that  they  had  said  to  them,  and  were  noth- 
ing but  kindness  and  witnesses  of  good 
friendship  until  they  reached  England;  the 
fathers  having  shown  them  in  this  way 
what  was  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  a  good 
many  enemies  of  the  Catholic  church  and 
to  the  prejudice  of  the  truth,  namely:  that 
their  doctrine  teaches  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  faith  with  heretics. 

At  last  ArgalP^  reached  the  harbor  of 
Milfier,^^  in  the  year  1614,  in  the  province 
of  Wales,  where  the  captain  was  impris- 
oned for  having  neither  passport  nor  com- 

"Champlain  here,  in  hurried  compilation,  for- 
got that  Argall  got  back  safely  to  Virginia,  and 
that  it  was  Turnel  who  was  driven  to  the  Azores 
and  then  went  to  England.    See  above,  p.  151. 

"Milford. 

156 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

mission.  His  General  had  it  and  had  be- 
come separated  from  him,  as  his  Vice- 
Admiral  had  done.^^ 

The  Jesuit  fathers  told  how  it  all  took 
place,  and  afterward  Captain  Argall-^  was 
released,  and  returned  to  his  ship,  and  the 
fathers  were  kept  on  land,  loved  and  cher- 
ished by  many  people.  And,  in  consequence 
of  the  account  that  the  captain  of  their  ship 
gave  of  what  took  place  in  the  Azores,  the 
news  came  to  London,  to  the  Court  of  the 
King  of  Great  Britain,  where  the  ambassa- 
dor of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty  has- 
tened on  the  release  of  the  fathers.  They 
were  conducted  to  Dover,  and  from  there 
went  to  France,  and  withdrew  to  their  Col- 
lege in  Amiens,  after  having  been  nine 
months  and  a  half  in  the  hands  of  the  Eng- 
lish. 

Sieur  de  la  Motte  also  arrived  in  Eng- 
land at  the  same  time,  in  a  vessel  which 
came  from  the  Bermudas,  having  been  to 
"Virginia.  He  was  captured  in  his  ship  and 
arrested,  but  released  through  the  mediar- 

*°Argall  probably  had  the  commission,  but 
whether  he  is  referred  to  by  the  "General"  or 
''Vice-Admiral"  is  not  clear.  Only  one  superior 
to  Turnel  is  mentioned  by  Biard.  Jesuit  Rela- 
tions, iv,  68-69. 

'Turnel. 

^57. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

tion  of  Monsieur  du  BIseau,  at  that  time 
ambassador  of  the  King  in  England. 

Madame  de  Guercheville,  having  been 
informed  of  all  this,  sent  La  Saussaye  to 
London  to  ask  for  the  restoration  of  the 
ship,  and  that  was  all  that  one  could  ob- 
tain at  that  time.  Three  Frenchmen  died 
in  Virginia  and  four  remained  there  while 
a  great  effort  was  being  made  for  their  re- 
lease. 

The  fathers  baptized  there  thirty  little 
children,  except  three  who  were  baptized 
at  the  approach  of  death.^^ 

It  must  be  admitted  that  this  enterprise 
was  thwarted  by  many  misfortunes  that  one 
could  well  have  avoided  at  the  beginning, 
if  Madame  de  Guercheville  had  given  three 
thousand  six  hundred  livres  to  Sieur  de 
Monts,  who  wished  to  have  a  settlement  at 
Quebec,  and  everything  quite  different.  I 
spoke  of  it  two  or  three  times  to  the  Rev- 
erend Father  Coton,  who  managed  this  af- 
fair. He  would  have  liked  to  have  the 
treaty  made  with  few  conditions,  or  by 
other  means,  which  could  not  be  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  this  Sieur  de  Monts,  which  was 
the  reason  why  nothing  was  done ;  although 

"Too  hastily  condensed.  Biard  says  the  Jesuits 
baptized  "about  twenty,  and  these  were  little  chil- 
dren, except  three,"  etc.    Jesuit  Relations,  iv,  87* 

158 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

I  was  able  to  explain  to  this  father  what 
advantages  he  could  have  in  the  conversion 
of  the  infidels,  as  well  as  for  the  commerce 
and  traffic  that  could  be  carried  on  by 
means  of  the  great  River  Saint  Lawrence 
much  better  than  in  Acadie,  which  is  dif- 
ficult to  secure,  on  account  of  the  infinite 
number  of  its  harbors,  which  cannot  be 
guarded  without  large  forces.  Acadie,  fur- 
thermore, is  little  peopled  with  savages; 
and,  in  addition,  one  cannot  get  through 
these  regions  into  the  interior,  where  there 
are  a  number  of  inhabitants  of  sedentary 
character.  This  can  be  done  by  the  River 
Saint  Lawrence  much  more  easily  than  by 
the  shores  of  Acadie. 

Still  further  [I  told  him]  that  the  Eng- 
lishman^^ who  was  fishing  at  that  time  near 
some  islands  13  to  14  leagues  from  the 
Island  of  Mount  Desert,  which  is  at  the 
mouth  of  the  River  Pemetegoet,  would  do 
w^hat  he  could  to  injure  our  men,  as  he  was 
near  Port  Royal  and  other  places.  This 
could  not  then  be  expected  at  Quebec, 
where  the  English  are  not  acquainted  at 
all.     If  this  Madame  de  Guercheville  had 


83' 


'The  singular  number  here  should  probably  be 
a  plural.  Perhaps  the  text  was  dictated  to  a  copy- 
ist who,  in  the  phrase,  faisait  alors  ses  pesches, 
may  have  written  "faisait"  for  "fasaient." 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

taken  possession  of  Quebec  at  that  time, 
one  could  have  had  assurance  that  by  the 
watchfulness  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  and  the 
instructions  that  I  could  have  given  them, 
the  country  would  have  been  much  better 
supplied;  and  that  the  Englishman  would 
not  have  found  it  stripped  of  provisions  and 
of  arms,  and  would  not  have  taken  posses- 
sion of  it,  as  he  has  done  in  these  last 
wars.-*  He  has  done  this  as  a  result  of  the 
acts  of  some  bad  Frenchmen,  added  to  the 
fact  that  then  these  fathers  did  not  have 
with  them  any  man  to  conduct  their  affairs, 
except  La  Saussaye,  who  was  little  experi- 
enced in  knowledge  of  places.  But  it  is  in 
vain  that  men  talk  and  act ;  one  cannot  avoid 
what  it  pleases  God  to  arrange. 

All  this  shows  how  enterprises  planned 
in  haste,  and  without  any  solid  foundation, 
and  carried  out  without  regard  for  the  real 
substance  of  the  affair,  always  come  out 
badly. 

"Champlain  refers  to  the  capture  of  Quebec  by 
the  Kirkes  in  1629.  The  story  is  told  in  Park- 
man,  Pioneers  of  New  France,  435-445. 


160 


SAMUEL    DE    CHAMPLAIN 


CHAPTER    II 

Second  undertaking  of  Sieur  de  Monts.  Advice 
that  the  author  gave  him.  Obtains  commission 
from  the  King.  His  departure.  Buildings  that  the 
author  makes  in  Quebec.  Outcries  against  Sieur 
de  Monts. 

Let  us  return  and  follow  the  second  un- 
dertaking of  Sieur  de  Monts,  who  did  not 
lose  courage  at  all,  and  did  not  wish  to  dally 
in  so  g'ood  a  course.  The  Reverend  Fa- 
ther Coton  having  refused  to  come  to  an 
agreement  with  him  about  the  3,600  livres, 
he  spoke  especially  with  me  of  his  plans. 
I  gave  him  counsel,  and  advised  him  to  go 
to  settle  on  the  great  River  Saint  Lawrence, 
with  which  I  was  familiar  through  the  voy- 
age that  I  had  made  to  it  ;^  and  I  gave  him 
a  taste  of  the  reasons  why  it  was  more  ap- 
propriate and  convenient  to  inhabit  that 
place  than  any  other.  He  resolved  upon  it ; 
and  with  this  end  he  spoke  of  it  to  His 
Majesty,  who  agreed  with  him,  and  gave 
him  a  commission  to  go  to  settle  in  the 
country.  And  to  enable  him  to  sustain  the 
expense  more  easily,  he  interdicted  the  traf- 

^In  1603.    See  below,  vol.  ii,  pp.  151-229. 
161 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

fie  of  furs  to  all  his  subjects  for  one  year 
only.^ 

For  this  purpose  he  had  two  ships 
equipped  at  Honfleur  and  made  me  his 
lieutenant  in  the  country  of  New  France 
in  the  year  1608.  Pont  Grave  started  first 
to  go  to  Tadoussac,  and  I  went  after  him 
in  a  ship  loaded  with  things  necessary  and 
suitable  for  a  settlement.  God  favored  us 
so  fortunately  tliat  we  arrived  at  the  har- 
bor of  Tadoussac,^  on  that  river,  at  which 
place  I  had  all  the  goods  unloaded,  with 
the  men,  laborers  and  artisans,  to  go  up  the 
river  to  find  a  place  convenient  and  suitable 
for  a  settlement.  When  I  had  found  the 
narrowest  place  in  the  river,  which  the 
natives  call  Quebec,*  I  had  a  settlement 
built  and  established  there,  and  had  the 
ground  cleared,  and  had  some  garden 
plots  made.  But  while  we  were  working 
with  so  much  labor,  let  us  see  what 
was    going    on    in    France    with    regard 

'The  commission  is  given  in  Voyages  of  Chant- 
plain,  II,  160-163;  and  in  the  original  in  Laver^ 
diere,  Voyages,  1613,  136-137. 

^June  3,    1608. 

*Champlain  omits  here  the  incidents  of  the  stay 
at  Tadoussac,  of  his  exploration  of  the  Saguenay 
and  of  the  voyage  to  Quebec.  Cf.  Voyages  of 
Champlain,  II,  164-175.  Some  of  the  details  are 
inserted  below,  p.  168,  ff. 

162 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

to  the  carrying  out  of  this  under- 
taking. 

Sieur  de  Monts  had  stayed  in  Paris,  on 
account  of  some  affairs  of  his  son;  and, 
while  hoping  that  His  Majesty  would  con- 
tinue to  allow  him  this  commission,  he  had 
not  been  long  in  peace  when  it  was  insisted 
more  than  ever  that  he  ought  to  go  to  the 
Council.  The  Bretons,  Basques,  Rochelois 
and  Normans  renewed  the  complaints;** 
and,  gaining  the  ears  of  those  who  wished 
to  befriend  them,  said  that  it  was  a  people 
that  was  concerned,  that  it  was  a  public  in- 
terest. But  it  was  not  perceived  that  these 
were  envious  people,  who  did  not  ask  for 
their  own  good,  but  rather  for  their  ruin, 
as  will  become  evident  in  the  sequel  of  this 
narrative. 

However  that  may  have  been,  the  com- 
mission was  revoked  for  the  second  time, 
without  any  power  to  stop  it.  It  would  be 
necessary,  on  this  account,  to  return  from 
Quebec  the  next  spring;  so  that  he  who 
should  put  the  most  into  it  would  lose  the 
most ;  and  this  would,  no  doubt,  be  Sieur  de 
Monts,  who  wrote  me  what  had  taken  place. 
This  gave  me  occasion  to  return  to  France 
to  view  these  commotions.  The  building  re- 
mained in  the  hands  of  Sieur  de  Monts,  who 

'I.  e.,  against  De  Monts's  monopoly  privileges. 

i6j 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

came  to  an  agreement  in  regard  to  it  with 
his  partners  some  time  later.  He,  mean- 
while, put  it  into  the  hands  of  a  certain  mer- 
chant of  La  Rochelle,  under  stated  condi- 
tions, to  serve  them  as  a  shelter  where  they 
could  deposit  their  merchandise  and  trade 
with  the  savages.  It  was  at  that  time  that  I 
made  the  overture  to  the  Reverend  Father 
Coton,  for  Madame  de  Guercheville,^  to  see 
if  she  wished  to  have  it ;  which  could  not  be, 
as  I  have  said  above,  since  the  trade  was 
open  until  another  commission  should  be 
issued  which  should  afford  a  better  regula- 
tion than  in  the  past. 

I  went  to  find  Sieur  de  Monts,  to  whom 
I  explained  all  that  had  taken  place  in  our 
winter  quarters,  and  what  I  had  been  able 
to  discover  and  learn  of  the  conveniences 
that  one  might  hope  for  on  the  great  River 
St.  Lawrence;  which  was  the  occasion  of 
my  seeing  His  Majesty,  in  order  to  give 
him  a  special  account,  in  which  he  took 
great  pleasure.  Sieur  de  Monts,  in  the 
meantime,  carried  away  by  a  desire  to  keep 
his  hold  on  this  matter  at  whatever  cost, 
at  once  did  all  that  he  could  to  have  a  new 
commission.  But  those  who  envied  him, 
by  means  of  favor  at  court,  had  so  shaped 
matters  that  his  labor  was  in  vain.     Ob- 

*See  above,  p.  158. 

164 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN 

serving  this,  on  account  of  the  desire  that 
he  had  to  see  his  lands  peopled,  he  did  not 
give  up  wishing  to  continue  the  settlement, 
even  without  a  commission,  and  to  have  the 
interior  of  the  country  up  this  river  ex- 
plored more  in  detail.  And  for  the  execu- 
tion of  this  enterprise  he  united  with  the 
Company  to  have  some  vessels  equipped,  as 
did  several  others,  to  whom  the  traffic  was 
not  interdicted,  who  followed  in  our  foot- 
steps and  carried  off  the  gain  derived  from 
the  pains  of  our  labor,  without  having  beea 
willing  to  contribute  to  the  undertakings. 

When  the  ships  were  ready,  Pont  Grave 
and  I  set  sair  to  make  this  voyage  in  the 
year  1610,  with  artisans  and  other  labor- 
ers, and  hindered  by  bad  weather.  Arriv- 
ing at  the  harbor  of  Tadoussac,^  and  at  that 
of  Quebec,  we  found  each  one  there  in. 
good  spirits. 

Before  going  farther  I  have  thought  that 
it  would  not  be  out  of  place  to  write  a  de- 
scription of  the  great  river,  and  of  some 
discoveries  that  I  made  up  this  St.  Law- 
rence River ;  of  its  beauty  and  the  fertility 
of  the  country,  and  of  what  took  place  ia 
the  wars  against  the  Iroquois.® 

'March  7.  "April  26, 

'Champlain  now  goes  back  to  the  events  of  1608 
in  Canada, 

I6S 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


CHAPTER    III 

Departure  of  the  author,  to  go  to  settle  the 
great  River  St.  Lawrence.  Description  of  the 
harbor  of  Tadoussac;  of  the  River  Saguenay;  of 
the  Isle  of  Orleans. 

After  having  recounted  to  the  late  King 
all  that  I  had  seen  and  discovered,  I  set 
sail  to  go  to  settle  the  great  River  St. 
Lawrence  at  Quebec,  as  the  lieutenant,  at 
that  time,  of  Sieur  de  Monts.  I  left  Hon- 
fleur  April  13,  1608,  and  the  third  of  June 
arrived  at  Tadoussac,^  80  or  90  leagues  from 
Gaspe,  and  anchored  in  the  roadstead  of 
Tadoussac,  which  is  one  league  from  the 
harbor.  This  is  like  a  cove  at  the  mouth 
of  the  River  Saguenay,  where  there  is  a 
tide  that  is  very  strange  on  account  of 
its  swiftness.  Here  sometimes  violent 
winds  rise  and  bring  on  great  cold.  It  is 
said  that  it  is  45  or  50  leagues  from  the 
harbor  of  Tadoussac  to  the  first  fall  of  this 
river,^  which  comes  from  the  north  north- 
west. This  harbor  is  small,  and  it  could 
not  hold  more  than  twenty  ships.  There 
is  enough  water,  and  it  lies  in  the  shelter 

^See  above,  p.  162. 
'The  Saguenay. 

166 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN 

of  the  River  Saguenay  and  of  a  little  rockj| 
island  which  is  almost  intersected  by  the 
sea.  The  rest  is  high  mountains,  where 
there  is  little  land,  unless  it  be  rocks  and 
sand  covered  with  trees,  such  as  firs  and 
birches.  There  is  a  Httle  pond  near  the  har- 
bor enclosed  by  mountains  covered  with 
trees.  At  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  there 
are  two  points,  one  on  the  southwest  side 
running  out  nearly  a  league  into  the  sea, 
which  is  called  the  Point  aux  Allouettes;^ 
the  other  on  the  northwest  side  running  out 
an  eighth  of  a  league  and  called  Rocky 
Point.*  The  winds  from  the  south  southr 
east  strike  the  harbor,  but  are  not  to  be 
feared,  but  the  wind  from  the  Saguenay 
certainly  is.  The  two  points  just  mentioned 
are  dry  at  low  tide. 

In  this  place  there  were  a  number  of  sav- 
ages who  came  there  to  trade  in  furs.  Many 
of  them  came  to  our  ship  with  their  canoes, 
which  are  eight  or  nine  feet  long  and  about 
a  foot  or  a  foot  and  a  half  wide  in  the  mid- 
dle, and  diminish  at  both  ends.  They  are 
very  apt  to  upset  if  one  does  not  know  well 
how  to  manage  them.  They  are  made  of 
birch  bark,  strengthened  inside  with  little 
hoops  of  white  cedar,  very  neatly  arranged, 

'Lark  Point. 

*Now  called  Pointe  aux  Vaches, 
167 


.    VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

and  they  are  so  light  that  a  man  can  easily 
carry  one  of  them.  Each  one  can  carry  the 
weight  of  a  hogshead.  When  they  wish  to 
cross  the  land,  to  go  to  some  river  where 
they  have  business,  they  carry  them  with 
them.  From  Choiiacoet^  all  along  the  coast 
as  far  as  Tadoussac  they  are  all  alike. 

I  visited  some  places  on  the  River  Sa- 
guenay,  which  is  a  beautiful  river  and  very 
deep,  say  from  80  to  icx)  fathoms.  Fifty 
leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  it 
is  said,  there  is  a  great  waterfall,^  which 
comes  from  a  very  high  place  and  with 
great  impetuosity.  There  are  some  very 
barren  islands  in  this  river,  being  nothing 
but  rocks  covered  with  small  firs  and 
heathen  The  river  is  half  a  league  wide 
in  some  places  and  a  quarter  at  its  mouth, 
where  the  current  is  so  strong  that  it  still 
flows  out  when  the  tide  is  three-quarters 
flood  in  the  St.  Lawrence.  All  the  land 
that  I  saw  consisted  of  nothing  but  moun- 
tains and  promontories  of  rock,  for  the 
most  part  covered  with  firs  and  birches — 
a  country  very  disagreeable  from  whatever 
point  of  view;  in  short,  it  is  a  real  desert 

'The  Saco  River,  Maine. 

'Probably  the  falls  of  the  Chicoutimi,  45  feet 
high.  The  Chicoutimi  empties  into  the  Saguenay 
about  95  miles  above  Tadoussa 

168 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

without  inhabitants.  When  I  went  hunting 
in  the  places  that  seemed  to  me  the  most 
pleasant  I  found  nothing  but  little  birds  like 
swallows,  and  some  river  birds  that  come 
there  in  summer.  Except  those  there  are 
none  at  all,  on  account  of  the  excessive  cold 
of  that  region.  This  river  comes  from  the 
northwest.'^ 

The  savages  informed  me  that  after  pass- 
ing the  first  rapid  they  pass  eight  others,. 
then  go  a  day  without  finding  any;  and 
then  again  they  pass  ten  others  and  come 
to  a  lake,^  which  takes  them  three  days.  In 
each  day  they  can  easily  make  ten  leagues 
going  up  stream.  At  the  end  of  the  lake 
there  are  people  who  are  nomads.  There 
are  three  rivers  that  empty  into  this  lake. 
One  comes  from  the  north,  very  near  the 
sea,^  where  they  said  it  was  a  great  deal 
colder  than  in  their  country ;  the  other  twa 
come  from  other  regions  of  the  interior, 
where  there  are  tribes  of  savages  who  are 
nomads  and  live  by  hunting  only.  This  is 
the  region  where  our  savages  go  to  carry 
the  merchandise  that  we  give  them  in  ex- 

^Cf.  the  narrative  of  the  voyage  of  1603,  vol.  ii,. 
p.  175,  below. 

*Lake  St.  John. 

'The  Mistassini,  by  which  the  Indians  went  to 
Hudson  Bay.    L. 

169 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

change  for  the  furs  that  they  have,  such  as 
beaver,  marten,  lynx  and  others,  which  are 
tliere  in  great  quantity  and  which  they  then 
bring  to  our  ships.  These  northern  people 
said  to  our  men  that  they  see  the  salt  wa- 
ter; and  if  that  is  true,  as  I  think  is  cer- 
tainly so,  it  cannot  be  anything  but  a  gulf 
which  cuts  into  the  land  on  the  north.^** 
The  savages  said  that  it  might  be  forty  or 
fifty  days'  journey  from  this  sea  on  the 
north  to  the  harbor  of  Tadoussac,  because 
of  the  difficulty  of  the  roads  and  rivers,  and 
because  the  country  is  very  mountainous 
and  is  covered  with  snow  the  greater  part 
of  the  year.  This  is  a  true  statement  of 
what  I  learned  of  this  stream.  I  have  often 
wished  to  make  tliis  discovery,  but  I  have 
not  been  able  to  do  it  without  the  savages, 
who  have  been  unwilling  to  have  me  or  any 
other  of  our  men  go  with  them.  Neverthe- 
less, they  have  promised  me  that  I  shall 
go." 

"Hudson  Bay. 

**Champlain  never  had  this  opportunity.  Hud- 
son Bay  was  first  approached  from  the  land  side 
in  1662  by  Radisson  and  Chouart,  more  commonly 
called  Grosseilliers,  his  landed  title.  Cf.  S.  E. 
Dawson,  The  St.  Lawrence,  323-325- 


170 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 


CHAPTER   IV 

Discovery  of  the  Hare  Island ;  of  the  Island  of 
Coudres,  and  of  the  Falls  of  Montmorency. 

I  LEFT  Tadoussac^  to  go  to  Quebec,  and 
passed  near  an  island  which  is  called  Hare 
Island,  about  six  leagues  from  this  port.  It 
is  two  leagues  from  the  land  on  the  north 
and  nearly  four  leagues  from  the  land  on 
the  south.  From  Hare  Island  we  went  to  a 
little  river  which  is  dry  at  low  tide,  where 
at  some  700  to  800  paces  inland  there  are 
two  waterfalls.  We  named  it  Salmon  Riv- 
er,2  on  account  of  catching  some  there. 
Running  along  the  northern  shore  we  came 
to  a  point  that  projects  into  the  sea,  which 
we  named  Cape  Dauphin,^  three  leagues 
from  Salmon  River.  From  there  we  went 
to  a  cape  that  we  named  Eagle  Cape,*  eight 
leagues  from  Cape  Dauphin.  Between  the 
two  there  is  a  large  bay,  at  the  head  of  which 
is  a  little  river  that  dries  up  at  low  tide,  and 
we  named  it  Flat  River  or  Malle  Baye.^ 

*June  30,  1608. 
*It  is  now  Black  River.    S. 
'Cape  Salmon. 
*Goose  Cape.    S. 

"The  modern  spelling  is  Malbaie;  part  of  it  is 
now  named  Murray  Bay. 

171 


:;"  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS  ' 

From  Eagle  Cape  we  went  to  the  Isle  aux 
Coudres,^  a  league  distant  and  about  a 
league  and  a  half  long.'^  It  is  somewhat 
level  and  grows  narrower  at  the  ends.  At 
the  western  end  there  are  some  meadows 
and  rocky  points,  which  project  somewhat 
into  the  river;  and  on  the  southwest  side 
there  are  many  reefs;  yet  it  is  attractive, 
on  account  of  the  woods  that  surround  it. 
It  is  distant  about  half  a  league  from  the 
land  on  the  north,  where  there  is  a  little 
river  that  comes  from  some  distance  in  the 
interior,  which  we  named  Riviere  du  Gouf- 
fre,^  since  abreast  of  it  the  tide  runs  with 
extraordinary  swiftness;  and,  although  it 
looks  calm,  it  is  always  much  in  motion, 
its  depth  being  very  great;  but  the  river 
itself  is  shallow,  and  there  are  a  great  many 
rocks  at  its  mouth  and  all  about  it.  From 
the  Isle  aux  Coudres  we  coasted  along  the 
shore  and  reached  a  cape  that  we  named 
the   Cap   de   Tourmente,^   which   is   seven 

*The  name  is  still  in  use.  It  means  Hazel  Isl- 
and. 

'The  translation  here  follows  Laverdiere's  re- 
construction of  the  text.     Voyages,  1632;  part  I, 

p.  134. 

^The  name  is  still  in  use.  It  means  River  of 
the  Whirlpool.    S. 

"Cape  Tourmente,  1920  feet  high.  The  name 
means  Tempest  Cape. 

172 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN 

leagues  from  it,  and  we  called  it  that  be- 
cause, with  ever  so  little  wind,  the  water 
rises  as  if  it  were  high  tide.  In  this  place 
the  water  begins  to  be  fresh.  From  there 
we  went  to  the  Island  of  Orleans,  two 
leagues,  on  the  south  side  of  which  there 
are  a  number  of  islands — low,  covered  with 
trees  and  very  pleasant,  full  of  large  mead- 
ows and  a  great  deal  of  game.  Some  of 
these  islands  are,  as  far  as  I  could  judge, 
two  leagues  long,  and  others  a  little  more 
or  less.  All  about  them  there  are  a  great 
many  rocks  and  shallows  that  are  very  dan- 
gerous to  cross.  These  are  about  two 
leagues  distant  from  the  mainland  on  the 
south.  All  this  shore,  both  on  the  north 
and  on  the  south,  from  Tadoussac  to  the 
Island  of  Orleans,  is  mountainous  and  the 
soil  is  very  poor,  with  nothing  but  pines, 
firs  and  birches,  and  some  very  bad  rocks ; 
and  in  the  greater  part  of  these  places  one 
would  not  know  how  to  go. 

Then  we  skirted  the  Island  of  Orleans  on 
the  south  side,  which  is  a  league  and  a  half 
from  the  mainland,  and  on  the  north  side 
it  is  half  a  league.  It  is  six  leagues  long 
and  one  league  wide,  or  a  league  and  a  half 
in  some  places.  It  is  very  pleasant  on  the 
north  side,  owing  to  the  great  extent  of 
woods  and  meadows;  but  the  passage  on 

173 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

that  side  is  very  dangerous,  because  of  the 
great  number  of  points  and  rocks  between, 
the  mainland  and  the  island.  There  are  a 
great  many  beautiful  oaks  on  the  island, 
and  in  some  places  nut  trees,  and  on  the 
edges  of  the  woods  vines  and  other  trees 
such  as  we  have  in  France. 

This  place  is  the  beginning  of  the  beau- 
tiful and  fertile  country  of  the  great  river 
and  is  120  leagues  from  its  mouth.  At  the 
end  of  the  island  there  is  a  torrent  of  wa- 
ter from  the  north  side,  which  I  named  the 
Falls  of  Montmorency.  It  comes  from  a 
lake  which  is  about  ten  leagues  in  the  in- 
terior and  it  falls  from  a  height  of  nearly  25 
fathoms,^**  above  which  the  land  is  level 
and  pleasant  to  look  at,  although  inland 
there  are  seen  high  mountains,  which  seem 
to  be  from  15  to  20  leagues  distant. 


CHAPTER   V 

Arrival  of  the  author  at  Quebec,  where  he  made 
his  place  of  abode.  Habits  of  the  savages  of  that 
country. 

From  the  Island  of  Orleans  to  Quebec 
it  is  one  league.    When  I  arrived  there  on 

^°The  height  of  the  falls  is  given  as  265  feet  in 
Baedeker's  Canada,  p.  53. 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN 

July  3^  I  looked  for  a  suitable  place  for 
our  buildings,  but  I  could  not  find  any 
more  convenient  or  better  situated  than  the 
point  of  Quebec,  so  called  by  the  savages, 
which  is  filled  with  nut  trees  and  vines.  I 
immediately  employed  some  of  our  work- 
men in  cutting  them  down,  in  order  to  put 
our  buildings  there. ^  Some  I  set  to  saw- 
ing boards,  some  to  digging  a  cellar  and 
making  ditches,  and  others  I  sent  to  Ta- 
doussac  with  the  boat  to  get  our  suppUes. 
The  first  thing  that  we  made  was  the  store- 
house in  which  to  put  our  provisions  un- 
der cover,  which  was  promptly  finished 
through  the  diligence  of  each  one  and  the 
care  that  I  had  of  it  Near  this  place  is  a 
pleasant  river,  where  formerly  Jacques  Car- 
tier  passed  the  winter.^ 

While    the    ship-carpenters,   the    wood- 

^1608. 

^The  spot  was  near  "where  the  Champlain  Mar- 
ket now  stands  in  the  lower  town  of  the  present 
city,  and  partly  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the 
Church  of  Notre  Dame  des  Victoires."  S.  E.  Daw- 
son, The  St.  Lawrence,  254, 

'Champlain  here  omits  the  story  of  the  conspir- 
acy of  the  locksmith ;  the  description  of  the  build- 
ings and  a  discission  of  the  site  of  Cartier's  win- 
ter quarters  in  1535,  which  he  gave  in  his  narra- 
tive of  1613.  Cf.  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  176- 
188;  Laverdiere,  Voyages,  1613,  148-161. 

175 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

sawers  and  other  workmen,  worked  on  our 
lodging  I  set  all  the  others  at  clearing  the 
land  about  the  building,  in  order  to  make 
the  garden-plots  in  which  to  sow  grain  and 
seeds,  to  see  how  they  would  all  turn  out, 
for  the  soil  appeared  very  good. 

Meanwhile  a  great  many  savages  were  in 
cabins  near  us,  fishing  for  eels,  which  be- 
gin to  come  about  September  15  and  go 
away  on  October  15.  At  this  time  all  the 
savages  live  on  this  manna  and  dry  enough 
of  it  to  last  through  the  winter  to  the  month 
of  February,  when  the  snow  is  about  two 
and  a  half  feet  deep,  or  three  at  the  most. 
And  when  the  eels  and  other  things  that 
they  collect  have  been  prepared  they  go  to 
hunt  the  beaver,  which  they  do  until  the  be- 
ginning of  January.  They  were  not  very 
successful  in  the  beaver  hunt,  for  the  wa- 
ter was  too  high  and  the  rivers  had  over- 
flowed, as  they  told  us.  When  their  eels 
give  out  they  have  recourse  to  hunting  the 
elk*  and  other  wild  beasts,  which  they  can 
find,  while  waiting  for  the  spring.  At  that 
time  I  was  able  to  supply  them  with  sev- 
eral things.  I  made  a  special  study  of  their 
customs. 

All  these  people  are  so  much  in  want  that 
sometimes  they  are  driven  to  live  on  certain 

*I.  e.,  the  moose. 

176 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

kinds  of  shellfish  and  to  eat  their  dogs  and 
the  skins  with  which  they  protect  them- 
selves against  the  cold.  If  some  one  should 
show  them  how  to  live  and  teach  them  how 
to  till  the  soil,  and  other  things,  they  would 
learn  very  easily,  for  there  are  a  good  many 
of  them  who  have  good  judgment  and  re- 
ply intelligently  to  what  is  asked  of  them. 
There  is  an  evil  tendency  among  them  to 
be  revengeful,  and  to  be  great  liars,  and 
one  cannot  rely  upon  them,  except  with 
caution  and  when  one  is  armed.  They  make 
promises  enough,  but  keep  few  of  them, 
most  of  them  being  without  law,  as  far  as  I 
could  see,  and,  besides,  full  of  false  be- 
liefs. I  asked  them  what  ceremonies  they 
employed  in  praying  to  their  god ;  they  told 
me  that  they  made  use  of  none,  except  that 
each  prayed  in  his  heart  as  he  wished.  This 
is  why  they  have  no  law,  and  do  not  know 
what  it  is  to  worship  God  and  pray  to  Him, 
but  live  like  brute  beasts ;  but  I  think  that 
they  would  soon  be  converted  to  Christian- 
ity if  some  people  would  settle  among  them 
and  cultivate  their  soil,  which  is  what  most 
of  them  wish.  They  have  among  them  some 
savages  whom  they  call  Pilotois,  who,  they 
believe,  talk  with  the  devil  face  to  face,  who 
tells  them  what  they  must  do,  whether  in 
case  of  war  or  in  regard  to  other  matters; 

177 


'  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

and  if  he  should  command  them  to  carry 
out  a  certain  enterprise  they  would  obey  his 
command  at  once.  They  believe,  also,  that 
all  the  dreams  that  they  have  are  true; 
and,  in  fact,  there  are  a  great  many  of  them 
who  say  that  they  have  seen  and  dreamed 
things  which  have  come  to  pass  or  will  take 
place.  But,  to  tell  the  truth  about  the  mat- 
ter, these  are  diabolical  visions,  which  de- 
ceive them  and  lead  them  astray.  This  is 
all  that  I  have  been  able  to  learn  about 
their  brutish  belief. 

All  these  people  are  well-built,  without 
deformity,  and  are  active.  The  women  are 
equally  well-formed,  plump,  and  of  a  tawny 
complexion,  because  of  certain  pigments 
which  they  put  on  which  make  them  look 
olive-colored.  They  are  dressed  in  skins ; 
a  part  of  the  body  is  covered,  the  rest  is 
naked;  but  in  winter  they  make  up  for  it, 
for  they  are  dressed  in  good  furs,  like  elk, 
otter,  beaver,  bear,  seal,  deer  and  roe,  which 
they  have  in  great  quantity.  In  winter, 
when  there  is  a  great  deal  of  snow,  they 
make  a  sort  of  racquets,  which  are  three  or 
four  times  as  large  as  those  in  France,^ 
which  they  attach  to  their  feet,  and  in  this 
way  they  can  go  in  the  snow  without  sink- 
ing in;  without  them  they  could  not  hunt 

^I.  e.,  the  racquets  used  for  tennis. 

178 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

or  go  in  many  places.  They  have  an  odd 
sort  of  marriage,  namely :  when  a  girl  is 
fourteen  or  fifteen  years  old,  and  she  has 
several  suitors,  she  may  associate  with  all 
of  them  that  she  likes.  Then  at  the  end  of 
five  or  six  years  she  makes  her  own  choice 
from  them  of  a  husband,  and  they  live  to- 
gether to  the  end  of  their  lives.  But  if,  af- 
ter living  some  time  together,  there  are  no 
children,  then  the  man  may  unmarry  him- 
self and  take  another  wife,  saying  that  his 
own  is  good  for  nothing.  Thus  the  girls 
are  freer  thar  the  women. 

After  marriage  they  are  chaste,  and  the 
husbands  are,  for  the  most  part,  jealous. 
They  give  presents  to  the  fathers  or  rela- 
tives of  the  girls  whom  they  have  married. 
These  are  the  ceremonies  and  ways  that 
they  employ  in  their  marriages. 

As  for  their  burials,  when  a  man  or  a 
woman  dies,  they  dig  a  big  grave,  where 
they  put  all  the  possessions  that  they  had, 
such  as  kettles,  furs,  axes,  bows,  arrows, 
robes  and  other  things;  then  they  put  the 
body  in  the  grave  and  cover  it  with  earth, 
and  put  a  great  many  large  pieces  of  wood 
on  top,  and  one  piece  erect.  This  they  paint 
red  on  the  upper  part.  They  believe  in  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  say  that  they 
will  be  happy  in  other  lands  with  their  rela- 

179 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

tives  and  friends  who  are  dead.  In  the  case 
of  captains  and  others  in  positions  of  au- 
thority, they  come,  after  the  death,  three 
times  a  year  for  a  celebration  and  dance, 
and  sing  on  the  grave. 

They  are  very  timid  and  constantly  fear 
their  enemies,  and  scarcely  sleep  at  all  wher- 
ever they  are,  although  I  reassured  them 
every  day  as  much  as  I  could  and  advised 
them  to  do  as  we  do,  namely:  let  some 
watch  while  others  sleep,  and  let  each  one 
have  his  arms  ready,  like  him  who  was  on 
guard ;  and  that  they  should  not  take  dreams 
for  the  truth,  on  which  to  rely.  But  these 
teachings  were  of  little  use,  and  they  said 
that  we  understood  better  than  they  how  to 
protect  ourselves  against  these  things,  and 
that  in  time,  if  we  should  come  to  live  in 
their  country,  they  would  learn. 


CHAPTER   VI 

Planting  of  vines  at  Quebec  by  the  author.   His 
kindness  to  the  poor  savages. 

On  the  first  of  October  I    had  wheat 
planted,  and  on  the  fifteenth  rye. 

On  the  third  of    the  month  there  was 
i8q 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

white  frost  in  some  places,  and  the  leaves 
began  to  fall  from  the  trees  on  the  fifteenth. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  the  month  I  had 
some  native  vines  planted,  which  came  on 
very  finely.  But  after  I  had  left  the  settle- 
ment, to  come  to  France,  they  were  all 
spoiled  from  neglect,  which  was  a  great 
grief  to  me  on  my  return. 

On  November  i8  there  was  a  great  snow- 
fall, but  it  stayed  only  two  days  on  the 
ground. 

On  February  5^  it  snowed  hard. 

On  the  twentieth  of  the  month  we  saw 
some  savages  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
begging  us  to  come  to  their  aid,  but  it  was 
beyond  our  power  to  do  so,  on  account  of 
the  great  amount  of  drifting  ice  in  the  riv- 
er. Hunger  pressed  these  poor,  miserable 
creatures  so  hard  that,  not  knowing  what 
to  do,  they  resolved  to  die — men,  women 
and  children — in  the  attempt  to  cross  the 
river,  in  the  hope  that  they  cherished  that 
I  would  come  to  their  rescue  in  their  ex- 
treme want.  Having  then  taken  this  reso- 
lution, the  men  and  women  took  their  chil- 
dren and  got  into  their  canoes,  thinking  to 
reach  our  side  through  an  opening  in  the 
ice  that  the  wind  had  made ;  but  they  were 
scarcely  in  the  middle  of  the  river  before 
^1609. 

181 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

their  canoes  were  caught  and  broken  into 
a  thousand  pieces  by  the  ice.  They  had  the 
presence  of  mind  to  throw  themselves,  with 
their  children,  whom  the  women  carried  on 
their  backs,  upon  a  large  cake  of  ice.  While 
they  were  on  it  one  could  hear  them  cry- 
ing out  in  such  a  way  as  to  excite  great 
pity;  and  they  expected  nothing  but  death. 
But  fortune  so  favored  these  poor  wretches 
that  a  big  piece  of  ice  struck  so  hard  against 
the  side  of  the  one  upon  which  they  were 
that  it  threw  them  on  the  shore.  When  they 
saw  this  favorable  turn,  they  reached  the 
shore  with  as  much  joy  as  they  had  ever 
had  in  doing  so,  in  spite  of  the  great  hun- 
ger from  which  they  had  suffered.  They 
came  to  our  settlement  looking  so  thin  and 
worn  that  they  seemed  like  skeletons,  most 
of  them  not  able  to  stand  up.  I  was  aston- 
ished to  see  them  and  at  the  way  in  which 
they  had  crossed,  when  I  thought  of  how 
feeble  and  weak  they  were.  I  had  bread 
and  beans  given  to  them,  but  they  could  not 
wait  for  them  to  be  cooked  to  eat  them; 
and  I  loaned  them  some  bark  of  trees  to 
cover  their  cabins.  As  they  were  making 
their  cabins  they  discovered  a  piece  of  car- 
rion that  I  had  thrown  out  nearly  two 
months  before  to  attract  foxes,  of  which 
we  caught  black  and  red  ones,  like  those  in 

182 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

France  but  having  much  more  fur.  This 
carrion  was  a  sow  and  a  dog,  which  had 
been  exposed  to  the  warm  weather  and  the 
cold.  When  the  weather  was  growing  mild 
it  smelled  so  strong  that  one  could  not  stay 
near  it.  Nevertheless,  they  lost  no  time  in 
seizing  it  and  taking  it  to  their  cabin,  where 
they  devoured  it  at  once  half-cooked,  and 
never  did  meat  seem  to  taste  better  to  them. 
I  sent  two  or  three  men  to  warn  them  that 
they  should  not  eat  it,  if  they  did  not  wish 
to  die.  As  they  approached  their  cabin  they 
smelled  such  a  stench  of  this  half-warmed- 
up  carrion,  of  which  each  savage  had  a 
piece  in  his  hand,  that  they  thought  they 
should  vomit,  and  so  they  scarcely  stopped 
there  at  all.  However,  I  did  not  fail  to  help 
them  as  much  as  I  could;  but  it  was  little, 
considering  their  numbers,  and  in  one 
month  they  would  have  eaten  up  all  our 
provisions,  if  they  could  have  got  hold  of 
them,  they  are  such  gluttons.  For  when  they 
have  food  they  do  not  keep  anything  in  re- 
serve, but  make  good  cheer  with  it  continu- 
ally, day  and  night ;  then  afterward  they  die 
of  hunger. 

They  did  another  thing,  besides,  as 
distressful  as  the  first  I  had  had  a  dog 
placed  in  the  top  of  a  tree,  to  allure  mar- 
tens and  birds  of  prey.     I  took  pleasure  in 

183 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

this,  inasmuch  as,  ordinarily,  this  carrion 
was  set  upon  by  them.  These  savages  went 
to  the  tree,  and,  since  they  were  too  weak 
to  cHmb  it,  cut  it  down  and  at  once  took 
away  the  dog,  which  was  nothing  but  skin 
and  bones,  with  the  head  tainted  and  smell- 
ing bad;  and  it  was  at  once  devoured. 

This  is  the  pleasure  that  they  have  the 
most  often  in  winter.  In  summer  they  are 
able  to  support  themselves,  and  to  get  pro- 
visions, so  as  not  to  be  attacked  by  such 
extreme  need,  from  the  rivers,  which  are 
full  of  fish,  and  from  hunting  birds  and 
wild  animals.  The  soil  is  very  fine  and 
good  for  cultivation,  if  only  they  would 
take  the  trouble  to  sow  Indian  corn,  as  all 
their  neighbors  do — the  Algonquins,  Hu- 
rons  and  Iroquois — who  are  not  assailed 
with  so  cruel  famines,  because  they  know 
how  to  provide  against  them  by  the  care 
and  foresight  that  they  exercise;  with  the 
result  that  they  live  happily,  compared  with 
these  Montagnais,  Canadians-  and  Souri- 
quois  who  live  along  the  seacoast.  The  snow 
and  ice  stay  on  the  ground  five  months; 
that  is,  from  the  month  of  December  until 
toward  the  end  of  April,  when  it  is  almost 

'The  name  applied  in  Champlain's  time  to  the 
Indians  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  below  the  Sa- 
guenay.    L. 

184 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

all  melted.  From  Tadoussac  to  Gaspe,  Cape 
Breton,  Newfoundland  and  the  Great  Bay* 
the  snow  and  ice  continue  in  most  places 
until  the  end  of  May,  at  which  date  some- 
times the  mouth  of  the  great  river  is  sealed 
with  ice;  but  at  Quebec  there  is  not  any, 
which  shows  a  strange  difference  for  120 
leagues  of  distance  in  longitude,  for  the 
mouth  of  the  river  is  at  latitude  49°,  50°  and 
51°,  and  our  settlement  is  in  latitude  46^*. 
As  for  the  country,  it  is  beautiful  and  pleas- 
ant, and  brings  all  sorts  of  grain  and  seeds 
to  maturity.  There  are  all  the  kinds  of 
trees  there  that  we  have  in  our  forests  on 
this  side  of  the  sea,  and  a  great  many  fruits, 
although  they  are  wild,  because  they  are  not 
cultivated;  such  as  walnuts,  cherries,  plum 
trees,  vines,  raspberries,  strawberries,  green 
and  red  gooseberries  and  a  good  many  other 
little  fruits  which  are  rather  good  there. 
There  are  also  several  kinds  of  good  herbs 
and  roots.  There  are  plenty  of  fish  to  catch 
in  the  rivers,  and  there  are  a  great  many 
meadows  and  an  enormous  quantity  of 
game. 

On  the  eighth  of  April  at  this  season* 
the  snow  was  all  melted  and,  nevertheless, 

■The  part  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  between 
Labrador  and  Newfoundland. 
*i6o9. 

18S 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

the  air  was  still  pretty  cold  until  into  May, 
when  the  trees  began  to  put  forth  their 
leaves." 


CHAPTER   VII 

Journey  from  Quebec  to  the  Island  of  St 
Eloi,  and  the  meeting  that  I  had  with  some  Al- 
gonquin and  Ochtaiguin  savages. 

With  this  purpose^  I  departed  on  the 
eighteenth  of  the  month.  The  river  begins 
to  widen  here,  sometimes  to  a  league  and 
even  a  league  and  a  half  in  some  places. 
The  country  becomes  more  and  more  beau- 
tiful. The  banks  of  the  river  are  partly 
hills  and  partly  level  land  without  rocks, 
except  a  very  few.  As  for  the  river,  it  is 
dangerous  in  many  places,  because  of  sand- 
bars and  rocks,  and  is  not  good  to  sail  in 
without  the  lead  in  hand.  The  river  is  very 
abundantly  supplied  with  several  sorts  of 

''Champlain  omits  here  the  account  of  the  scur- 
vy which  he  gave  in  the  narrative  of  1613.  Cf. 
Voyages  of  Chaniplain,  II,  197-200;  Laverdiere, 
Voyages,  161 3,  170-172. 

^That  is,  to  explore  the  country  of  the  Iroquois. 
June  7  Champlain  had  left  Quebec,  to  go  to  Ta- 
doussac  on  business ;  he  now  returned  and  is  start- 
ing from  Quebec,  June  18.  See  references  in  pre- 
ceding note. 

186 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

fish,  not  only  such  as  we  have  on  this  side 
of  the  sea,  but  others  that  we  have  not.  The 
country  is  all  covered  with  large,  high  for- 
ests of  the  same  kinds  of  trees  that  we  have 
about  our  settlement.   There  are  also  many 
vines  and  nut  trees  on  the  bank  of  the  riv- 
er and  a  great  many  little  brooks  and  rivers 
which  are  navigable  only  with  canoes.   We 
passed  near  Point  St.  Croix.^    This  point  is 
sandy.     It  projects  a  little  into  the  river, 
and    is    exposed    to    the    northwest    wind, 
which  beats  upon  it.  There  are  some  mead- 
ows, but  they  are  submerged  every  time 
the  tide  is  high.    The  tide  falls  nearly  two 
and  a  half  fathoms.    This  passage  is  very 
dangerous  to  go  through,  on  account  of  the 
quantity  of  rocks  that  lie  across  the  river, 
although  there  is  a  good  channel  which  is 
very  crooked,  where  the  river  runs  like  a 
mill-race,    and    one    must    take    plenty    of 
time  for  the  passage.     This  place  has  de- 
ceived a  great  many  people,  who  thought 
that  they  could  not  go  through  it  except  at 
high  tide  for  lack  of  a  channel,  but  we  have 
found  the  contrary.     As  for  going  down, 
one  can  do  it  at  low  tide;    but  to  go  up 
would  be  very  difficult,  unless  there  should 
be  a  high  wind,  because  of  the  great  cur- 
rent; and  so  it  is  necessary  to  wait  until 
'Point  Platon.    Dawson,  St.  Lawrence,  236. 

187 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

the  tide  is  one-third  flood  to  pass,  when  the 
current  in  the  channel  is  6,  8,  lo,  12  and 
15  fathoms  deep. 

Continuing  our  course  we  came  to  a  river 
which  is  very  pleasant.  It  is  nine  leagues 
from  St.  Croix  and  twenty-four  from  Que- 
bec. We  named  it  St.  Mary's  River.^  The 
whole  length  of  this  river  from  St.  Croix  is 
very  beautiful. 

Continuing  our  route  I  met  two  or  three 
hundred  savages,  who  were  in  cabins  near 
a  little  island  called  St.  Eloi,  a  league  and 
a  half  from  St.  Mary.  We  investigated 
and  found  that  they  were  some  tribes  of 
savages  called  Ochateguins*  and  Algon- 
quins,  who  were  going  to  Quebec,  to  assist 
us  in  exploration  of  the  countries  of  the 
Iroquois,  against  whom  they  carry  on  mor- 
tal combat,  sparing  nothing  that  belongs  to 
them. 

After  having  recognized  them  I  went 
ashore  to  see  them  and  asked  who  their 
chief  was.  They  told  me  that  they  had  two 
of  them — one  named  Iroquet  and  the  other 
Ochasteguin,  whom  they  pointed  out  to  me 
— and  I  went  to  their  cabin,  where  they  re- 
ceived me  well,  according  to  their  custom. 
I  began  to  explain  to  them  the  purpose  of 

''Now  the  Ste.  Anne.   L. 
*The  Hurons. 

188 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

my  journey,  with  which  they  were  very 
much  pleased ;  and,  after  talking  of  several 
things,  I  withdrew.  Some  time  afterward 
they  came  to  my  shallop,  where  they  made 
me  accept  some  skins,  showing  a  good 
many  signs  of  pleasure,  and  then  they  re- 
turned to  land. 

The  next  day  the  two  chiefs  came  to  find 
me.  Then  they  remained  some  time  with- 
out saying  a  word,  meditating  and  smoking 
constantly.  After  having  thought  it  all 
over,  they  began  to  harangue  in  a  loud 
voice  all  their  companions  who  were  on  the 
river  bank,  their  arms  in  their  hands,  lis- 
tening very  attentively  to  what  their  chiefs 
said  to  them,  namely :  that  nearly  ten  moons 
ago,  as  they  reckoned,  Iroquet's  son  had 
seen  me,  and  that  I  had  given  him  a  kind 
reception,  and  that  we  desired  to  assist 
them  against  their  enemies,  with  whom 
they  had  been  at  war  for  a  long  time,  be- 
cause of  a  great  deal  of  cruelty  that  the 
enemy  had  shown  toward  their  tribe,  on 
the  pretext  of  friendship;  and  that,  having 
always  desired  vengeance  since  that  time, 
they  had  asked  all  the  savages  on  the  bank 
of  the  river  to  come  to  us,  to  form  an  alli- 
ance with  us,  and  that  they  never  had  seen 
Christians,  which  had  also  induced  them  to 
come  to  see  us,  and  that  I  might  do  as  I 

189 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

wished  with  them  and  their  companions; 
that  they  had  no  children  with  them,  but 
men  who  knew  how  to  fight  and  were  full 
of  courage,  and  who  were  familiar  with  the 
country  and  the  rivers  in  the  country  of  the 
Iroquois ;  and  that  now  they  begged  me  to 
return  to  our  settlement,  that  they  might 
see  our  houses;  that  after  three  days  we 
should  return  all  together  to  the  war,  and 
that  for  a  sign  of  great  friendship  and  joy 
I  should  have  muskets  and  arquebuses  fired, 
and  that  they  would  be  very  much  pleased ; 
which  I  did.  They  gave  great  cries  of  as- 
tonishment, and  especially  those  who  never 
had  heard  nor  seen  them  before. 
.  After  I  had  heard  them  I  replied  to  them 
that  to  please  them  I  should  be  very  glad 
to  go  back  to  our  settlement,  to  give  them. 
more  pleasure,  and  that  they  might  infer 
that  I  had  no  other  intention  than  to  en- 
gage in  war,  since  I  carried  with  me  noth- 
ing but  arms,  and  not  merchandise  for  bar- 
ter, as  they  had  been  led  to  understand; 
that  my  desire  was  only  to  accomplish  that 
which  I  had  promised  them ;  and  that  if  I 
had  known  of  any  one  who  had  made  evil 
reports  to  them,  I  should  regard  such  as 
enemies  more  than  they  themselves  did. 
They  told  me  that  they  did  not  believe  any 
of  it,  and  that  they  had  heard  nothing  said ; 

190 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

but  the  contrary  was  true,  for  there  were 
some  savages  who  told  ours.  I  contented 
myself  in  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  be 
able  to  show  them  in  reality  something  dif- 
ferent from  what  they  could  have  expected 
of  me. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

Return  to  Quebec,  and  then  continuation  with 
the  savages  to  the  Rapids  of  the  River  of  the  Iro- 
quois. 

The  next  day  we  all  set  out  together  to 
go  to  our  settlement,  where  they  enjoyed 
themselves  five  or  six  days,  which  passed 
in  dances  and  festivities,  because  of  the  de- 
sire that  they  felt  that  we  should  be  in  the 
war. 

Pont  Grave  came  at  once  from  Tadous- 
sac  with  two  little  barks  full  of  men,  in 
response  to  a  letter  in  which  I  begged  him 
to  come  as  promptly  as  he  could. 

When  the  savages  saw  him  coming  they 
rejoiced  more  than  before,  especially  as  I 
told  them  that  he  had  given  me  some  men 
to  assist  them,  and  that  perhaps  we  should 
go  together. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  the  month  I  left 
191 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS    i 

Quebec,  to  assist  the  savages.  On  the  first 
of  June^  we  reached  St.  Croix,  15  leagues 
from  Quebec,  with  a  shallop  equipped  with 
all  I  needed. 

I  left  St.  Croix  on  June  [July]  3,  with 
all  the  savages,  and  we  passed  the  Trois 
Rivieres,^  which  is  a  very  beautiful  coun- 
try, covered  with  a  great  many  beautiful 
trees.  From  this  place  to  St.  Croix  it  is  15 
leagues.  At  the  mouth  of  this  river  there 
are  six  islands,  of  which  three  are  very 
small  and  the  others  from  1500  to  1600 
paces  long,  very  pleasant  to  look  at;  and 
near  Lake  St.  Peter,  about  two  leagues  up 
the  river,  there  is  a  small  rapid,  which 
is  not  very  difficult  to  pass.  This  place  is 
in  latitude  46  degrees,  less  some  minutes. 
The  savages  of  the  country  gave  us  to  un- 
derstand that  some  days'  journey  off  there 
is  a  lake  through  which  the  river  passes. 
The  lake  is  ten  days'  journey  long,^  and 
then  one  passes  some  falls,  and  afterward 
three  or  four  more  lakes  five  or  six  days* 
journey  long ;  and  at  the  end  there  are  four 
or  five  leagues  b}^  land  and  then  one  enters, 
directly  into  another  lake,   where  the  Sa- 

^This  should  be  July. 

'The  river  is  now  the  St.  Maurice.    The  town 
is  Three  Rivers.    It  is  at  the  head  of  tidewater. 
'Lake  Ontario. 

192 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

guenay  has  its  principal  source.*  The  sav- 
ages come  from  this  place  to  Tadoussac. 
The  Trois  Rivieres  is  twenty  days'  journey 
for  the  savages;  and  they  say  that  at  the 
end  of  this  river  there  are  some  people  who 
are  great  hunters,  without  a  fixed  abode, 
and  that  they  can  see  the  Northern  Sea°  in 
less  than  six  days'  journey.  What  little 
land  I  have  seen  is  sandy,  rather  high,  with 
hills  crowded  with  pines  and  firs  on  the 
river  banks ;  but  about  a  quarter  of  a  league 
inland  the  woods  are  very  beautiful  and 
open,  and  the  country  is  level. 

Continuing  our  route  as  far  as  the  en- 
trance to  Lake  St.  Peter,  which  is  a  very 
pleasant  and  level  country,  we  crossed  the 
lake  in  2,  3  and  4  fathoms  of  water.  It 
may  be  eight  leagues  long  and  four  wide. 
On  the  north  side  we  saw  a  very  pleasant 
river  extending  some  fifty  leagues  into  the 
interior;  and  I  named  it  St.  Suzanne;^  and 
on  the  south  side  there  are  two  of  them, 
one  called  Riviere  du  Pont^  and  the  other 
Riviere  de  Gennes^ — which  are  very  beauti- 
ful and  in  a  fine,  fertile  country.  The  water 
is  almost  still  in  the  lake,  which  is  very  full 

*Champlain  here  fell  into  a  misunderstanding  of 
what  the  Indians  meant. 
''Hudson  Bay.  °The  River  du  Loup.    L. 

'The  Nicolet.   L.        'The  Yamaska.   L. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

of  fish.  On  the  north  side  land  can  be  seen 
some  12  or  15  leagues  from  the  lake,  which 
is  rather  mountainous.  Having  crossed  the 
lake  we  passed  by  a  great  number  of  islands 
of  different  sizes,  where  there  are  a  great 
many  nut  trees  and  vines,  and  beautiful 
meadows,  with  quantities  of  game  and  wild 
animals,  which  come  from  the  mainland  to 
these  islands.  The  fish  there  are  more  plen- 
tiful than  in  any  other  place  in  the  river 
that  we  have  seen.  From  these  islands  we 
went  to  the  mouth  of  the  River  of  the  Iro- 
quois,^ where  we  stayed  two  days  and  re- 
freshed ourselves  with  good  venison,  birds 
and  fish,  which  the  savages  gave  us.  Here 
there  was  some  controversy  among  them  on 
the  subject  of  the  war,  with  the  result  that 
there  were  only  a  certain  number  of  them 
who  decided  to  go  with  me,  and  the  others 
returned  to  their  country  with  their  wives 
and  the  merchandise  that  they  had  got  in 
trade. 

Starting  from  the  mouth  of  this  river, 
which  is  about  400  or  500  paces  wide  and 
is  very  beautiful,  running  southward,^^  we 
reached  a  place  which  is  in  latitude  45**, 
about  22  or  23  leagues  from  Trois  Rivi- 

°The  Richelieu. 

"The  Richelieu  runs  north.  Champlain,  how- 
ever, often  speaks  of  the  course  of  a  river  in  this 

194 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

eres.  The  whole  river,  from  its  mouth  to 
the  first  rapid/^  which  is  15  leagues,  is  very 
smooth  and  bordered  with  woods,  as  are 
all  the  other  places  named  above,  and  of  the 
same  varieties.  There  are  nine  or  ten  beau- 
tiful islands  before  one  reaches  the  first 
rapid  of  the  Iroquois,  which  are  about  a 
league  or  a  league  and  a  half  long,  covered 
with  a  quantity  of  oaks  and  nut  trees.  The 
river  is  nearly  half  a  league  wide  in  some 
places,  and  is  very  full  of  fish.  We  did  not 
find  less  than  four  feet  of  water.  The  en- 
trance to  the  rapid  is  a  sort  of  lake,^^  into 
which  the  water  descends,  which  is  about 
three  leagues  in  circumference,  and  there 
are  some  meadows  there  where  no  savages 
are  settled,  on  account  of  the  wars.  There 
is  very  little  water  at  the  rapid,  which  flows 
with  great  swiftness,  and  there  are  a  great 
many  rocks  and  stones,  which  prevent  the 
savages  from  going  up  by  water;  but  in 
returning  they  descend  very  well.  All  this 
country  is  very  level,  full  of  forests,  vines 

way,  saying  that  the  course  of  a  certain  river  goes 
north  when  he  means  that  one  following  up  the 
course  would  go  north. 

"The  word  "sault"  is  usually  rendered  "rapid" 
or  "rapids"  in  this  translation  when  these  words 
would  ordinarily  be  used  by  an  English  writer. 

"Chambly  Basin. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

and  nut  trees.  Up  to  this  time  no  Chris- 
tians had  been  as  far  as  this  place  except 
us,  and  we  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  get- 
ting up  the  river  with  oars. 

As  soon  as  I  had  reached  the  rapids  I 
took  five  men  and  we  went  ashore  to  see  if 
we  could  get  by  this  place,  and  we  went 
about  a  league  and  a  half  without  seeing 
any  chance  of  it,  unless  we  should  venture 
in  water  running  with  great  rapidity,  where 
on  both  sides  there  were  a  great  many 
stones  which  are  very  dangerous,  and  where 
the  water  was  very  shallow.  The  rapids 
may  be  600  feet  wide.  And  when  we  saw 
that  it  was  impossible  to  cut  the  trees  and 
make  a  way,  with  the  few  men  that  I  had, 
I  decided,  by  the  advice  of  each  of  them,  to 
do  something  different  from  what  we  had 
promised,  inasmuch  as  the  savages  had  as- 
sured me  that  the  roads  were  easy ;  but  we 
found  the  contrary  true,  which  I  have  al- 
ready said,  which  was  why  we  returned 
from  them  to  our  shallop,  where  I  had  left 
some  men  to  guard  it,  and  to  tell  the  sav- 
ages, when  they  should  arrive,  that  we  had 
gone  to  explore  along  this  rapid. 

When  we  had  seen  what  we  wished  to 
of  this  place,  as  we  were  returning  we  met 
some  savages  who  had  come  to  explore  as 
we  had  done.     They  told  us  that  all  their 

196 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

companions  had  reached  our  shallop.  There 
we  found  them  much  pleased  and  satisfied 
that  we  had  gone  in  this  way  without  a 
guide,  except  for  the  reports  that  they  had 
several  times  given  us. 

Having  come  back^  and  having  seen  what 
little  chance  there  was  of  passing  the  rap- 
ids with  our  shallop,  I  was  troubled;  and  I 
was  much  disappointed  to  return  without 
having  seen  a  large  lake  filled  with  beauti- 
ful islands  and  a  great  deal  of  beautiful 
country  bordering  the  lakes,  where  their 
enemies  live,  as  they  had  represented  it  to 
me.  After  thinking  things  over  by  myself, 
I  resolved  to  go  there  to  fulfill  my  promise 
and  the  desire  that  I  felt,  and  I  set  out  with 
the  savages  in  their  canoes  and  took  with 
me  two  men  who  volunteered.  For  when 
our  men  saw,  in  good  earnest,  that  I  in- 
tended to  go  with  their  canoes,  their  hearts 
failed  them,  which  resulted  in  my  sending 
them  back  to  Tadoussac. 

I  went  directly  to  speak  to  the  captains 
of  the  savages,  and  gave  them  to  under- 
stand that  they  had  told  us  the  contrary  to 
what  I  had  seen  at  the  rapids,  namely,  that 
it  was  beyond  our  power  to  go  up  it  with  the 
shallop;  nevertheless,  that  this  would  not 
hinder  me  from  aiding  them  as  I  had  prom- 
ised.   This  news  saddened  them  very  much, 

197 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

and  they  wished  to  make  another  decision; 
but  I  told  them  and  urged  upon  them  that 
they  ought  to  hold  to  their  first  plan;  and 
that  I,  with  two  others,  would  go  to  the 
war  with  them  in  their  canoes,  to  show 
them  that,  as  for  myself,  I  would  not  fail 
to  keep  my  word  to  them,  although  I 
should  be  alone;  and  that,  at  that  time,  I 
did  not  wish  to  force  any  one  of  my  com- 
panions to  embark  except  those  who  volun- 
teered, of  whom  I  had  found  two,  that  I 
would  take  with  me. 

They  were  very  much  pleased  at  what  I 
told  them,  and  at  hearing  the  decision  that 
I  had  made,  and  they  kept  promising  to 
show  me  beautiful  things. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Departure  from  the  rapids  of  the  Iroquois  Riv- 
er. Description  of  a  large  lake.  Of  the  encoun- 
ter with  the  enemy  that  we  had  at  this  lake,  and 
of  the  manner  in  which  they  attacked  the  Iro- 
<luois. 

I  LEFT  these  rapids  of  the  Iroquois  River 
on  July  2.^    All  the  savages  began  to  carry 

^This  date  in  all  probability  should  be  the  12th. 
198 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

their  canoes,  arms  and  baggage  by  land 
about  half  a  league,  in  order  to  get  by  the 
swiftness  and  force  of  the  rapids.  This  was 
quickly  accomplished. 

Then  they  put  them  all  in  the  water,  and 
two  men  in  each  boat,  with  their  baggage ; 
and  they  made  one  of  the  men  from  each 
canoe  go  by  land  about  a  league  and  a  half, 
the  length  of  the  rapid,  which  is  not  so  vio- 
lent as  at  its  mouth,  except  in  certain  places 
where  rocks  obstruct  the  river,  which  is  not 
more  than  300  or  400  paces  wide.  After  we 
had  passed  the  rapid,  which  was  not  with- 
out difficulty,  all  the  savages  who  had  gone 
by  land  by  a  pretty  good  path  and  level 
country,  although  there  were  a  great  many 
trees,  re-embarked  in  their  canoes.  My  men 
went  by  land,  too,  and  I  by  water,  in  a 
canoe.    They  had  a  review  of  all  their  men 
and  found  that  they  had  twenty-four  ca- 
noes, with  sixty  men  in  them.    When  they 
had  had  their  review,  we  continued  on  our 
way  as  far  as  an  island  three  leagues  long,^ 
covered  with  the  most  beautiful  pines  that 
I  had  ever  seen.    They  hunted,  and  caught 
some  wild  animals  there.   Going  on  farther, 
about    three   leagues   from   there,   we  en- 
camped, to  rest  that  night. 

Immediately  they  all  began,  some  to  cut 

'Sainte-Therese.    L. 

199 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

wood,  others  to  strip  off  the  bark  of  trees 
to  cover  their  cabins,  to  provide  shel- 
ter for  themselves ;  others  began  to  fell  big 
trees  for  a  barricade  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  about  their  cabins.  They  know  so  well 
how  to  do  this  that  in  less  than  two  hours 
five  hundred  of  their  enemy  would  have  had 
a  good  deal  of  trouble  to  attack  them  with- 
out losing  a  great  many  of  their  number. 
They  do  not  barricade  the  side  toward  the 
river,  where  their  canoes  are  drawn  up,  so 
as  to  be  able  to  embark,  if  occasion  requires. 

When  they  were  lodged  they  sent  three 
canoes  with  nine  good  men,  as  is  their  cus- 
tom in  all  their  encampments,  to  reconnoi- 
tre for  two  or  three  leagues,  to  see  if  they 
can  discover  anything.  Later  these  come 
back.  They  sleep  all  night,  relying  upon  the 
exploration  of  these  scouts,  which  is  a  very 
bad  custom  among  them;  for  sometimes 
they  are  surprised  while  asleep  by  their  ene- 
mies, who  knock  them  in  the  head  before 
they  have  a  chance  to  get  up  to  defend 
themselves. 

Being  aware  of  that,  I  explained  to  them 
the  mistake  that  they  were  making,  and  told 
them  that  they  ought  to  watch,  as  they  had 
seen  us  do  every  night,  and  have  men  on  the 
lookout,  to  listen  and  see  if  they  saw  any- 
thing; and  that  they  should  not  live  like 

200 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

beasts.     They  told  me  that  they  could  not 
keep  watch,  and  that  they  worked  enough 
by  day  in  hunting;  and,   above  all,   when 
they  go  to  war,  they  divide  their  bands  into 
three  parts,  viz.,  one  part  to  hunt,  distribu- 
ted in  various  places ;  one  to  constitute  the 
main  body,  who  are  always  under  arms; 
and  the  other  part  as   scouts,  to  explore 
along  the  rivers,  to  see  if  there  is  any  mark 
or  sign  to  indicate  that  their  enemies  have 
passed,  or  their  friends.     This  they  recog- 
nize by  certain  marks  that  the  chiefs  of  dif- 
ferent tribes  exchange.    These  are  not  al- 
ways  alike,    and   they    inform   themselves 
from  time  to  time  when  they  are  changed. 
In  this  way  they  recognize  whether  those 
who  have  passed  are   friends  or  enemies. 
The  hunters  never  hunt  in  advance  of  the 
main  body,  or  of  the  scouts,  in  order  not 
to  cause  alarm  or  disorder,  but  in  the  rear, 
and  in  the  direction  where  they  do  not  ex- 
pect their  enemies ;  and  they  continue  thus 
until  they  are  two  or  three  days'  journey 
from  their  enemies,  when  they  go  at  night 
by  stealth,  all  in  a  body,  except  the  scouts. 
And  by  day  they  retire  within  the  thickest 
part  of  the  woods,  where  they  rest,  without 
wandering   off,   or   making   any   noise,   or 
lighting  any  fire,  even  when  necessary  for 
food,  during  this  time,  in  order  not  to  be 

201 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

noticed  if,  by  chance,  their  enemies  should 
pass.  They  do  not  make  any  fire,  except 
for  smoking;  and  they  eat  Indian  meal 
cooked,  which  they  soak  in  water,  hke  por- 
ridge. They  preserve  this  meal  for  times 
of  need,  and  when  they  are  near  their  ene- 
mies, or  when  they  are  retreating  after  an 
attack,  they  do  not  care  to  hunt,  but  retreat 
at  once. 

In  all  their  encampments  they  have  their 
Pilotois,  or  Ostemoy,  a  kind  of  persons  who 
act  as  soothsayers,  in  whom  these  people 
believe.  The  soothsayer  builds  a  cabin  sur- 
rounded by  sticks  of  wood,  and  covers  it 
with  his  robe.  When  it  is  done  he  ensconces 
himself  inside  in  such  a  way  that  he  cannot 
be  seen  at  all ;  then  he  takes  hold  of  one  of 
the  posts  of  his  cabin  and  shakes  it,  mutter- 
ing some  words  between  his  teeth,  by  which 
he  says  he  invokes  the  devil,  who  appears 
to  him  in  the  form  of  a  stone  and  tells  him 
whether  they  will  find  their  enemies  and  kill 
many  of  them.  This  Pilotois  lies  flat  on  the 
ground,  motionless,  only  making  believe  to 
speak  to  the  devil;  then  suddenly  he  rises 
to  his  feet,  talking  and  writhing  in  such  a 
way  that,  although  he  is  naked,  he  is  all  in 
a  perspiration.  All  the  people  are  about  the 
cabin,  seated  on  their  buttocks  like  mon- 
keys.   They  told  me  often  that  the  shaking 

202 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

of  the  cabin  that  I  saw  was  caused  by  the 
devil  and  not  by  the  man  who  was  inside, 
although  I  observed  the  contrary;  for  it 
was  (as  I  have  already  said)  the  Pilotois 
who  seized  one  of  the  props  of  the  cabin 
and  made  it  move  so.  They  also  told  me 
that  I  should  see  fire  come  out  of  the  top, 
which  I  did  not  see  at  all.  These  rogues 
also  disguise  their  voices  and  make  them 
sound  big  and  clear  and  speak  in  a  language 
that  is  unfamiliar  to  the  other  savages ;  and 
when  they  make  it  sound  broken  the  sav- 
ages believe  that  it  is  the  devil  who  speaks, 
and  that  he  is  saying  what  is  to  happen  in 
their  war,  and  what  they  must  do.  Never- 
theless, all  these  rascals  who  play  sooth- 
sayer do  not  speak  two  true  words  out  of  a 
hundred  and  impose  upon  these  poor  folk, 
like  plenty  of  others  in  the  world,  in  order 
to  get  their  living  from  the  people.  I  often 
admonished  them  that  all  that  they  did  was 
sheer  folly,  and  that  they  ought  not  to  put 
faith  in  it.^ 

Now,  after  they  have  learned  from  their 
soothsayers  what  is  to  happen  to  them,  they 
take  as  many  sticks,  a  foot  long,  as  they 

^"This  mode  of  divination  was  universal  among 
the  Algonquin  tribes,  and  is  not  extinct  to  this 
day  among  their  roving  Northern  bands."  Park- 
man,  Pioneers  of  New  France,  344. 

203 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

themselves  number,  and  represent  their 
chiefs  by  others  a  Httle  longer.  Then  they 
go  into  the  woods  and  clear  a  place  five  or 
six  feet  square,  where  the  chief,  as  field 
sergeant,  arranges  all  the  sticks  in  the  order 
that  seems  good  to  him;  then  he  calls  all 
his  companions,  who  all  come  armed,  and 
shows  them  the  rank  and  order  that  they 
are  to  keep  when  they  fight  with  their  ene- 
mies. All  the  savages  watch  this  attentively, 
noticing  the  figure  which  their  chief  has 
made  with  these  sticks,  and  afterward  they 
retire  and  begin  to  arrange  themselves  as 
they  have  seen  these  sticks,  and  then  mingle 
with  one  another,  and  return  directly  to 
their  order;  continuing  this  two  or  three 
times,  and  doing  it  at  all  their  encamp- 
ments, without  needing  a  sergeant  to  make 
them  keep  in  their  ranks,  which  they  know 
well  how  to  keep,  without  getting  into  con- 
fusion. This  is  the  rule  that  they  abide  by 
in  their  warfare. 

We  left  the  next  day,  continuing  our 
course  in  the  river  as  far  as  the  entrance  to 
the  lake.  In  this  there  are  many  pretty  isl- 
ands, which  are  low,  covered  with  very 
beautiful  woods  and  meadows,  where  there 
is  a  quantity  of  game,  and  animals  for  hunt- 
ing, such  as  stags,  fallow-deer,  fawns,  roe- 
bucks, bears  and  other  animals  which  come 

204 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

from  the  mainland  to  these  islands.  We 
caught  a  great  many  of  them.  There  are 
also  many  beavers,  not  only  in  this  river, 
but  in  many  other  little  ones  which  empty 
into  it.  These  places,  although  they  are 
pleasant,  are  not  inhabited  by  any  savages, 
on  account  of  their  wars.  They  withdraw  as 
far  as  possible  from  the  river  into  the  in- 
terior, in  order  not  to  be  suddenly  surprised. 
The  next  day  we  entered  the  lake,  which 
is  of  great  extent,  perhaps  50  or  60  leagues 
long.*  There  I  saw  four  beautiful  islands 
10,  12  and  15  leagues  long,^  which  formerly 
had  been  inhabited  by  savages,  like  the 
River  of  the  Iroquois;  but  they  had  been 
abandoned  since  they  had  been  at  war  with 
one  another.  There  are  also  several  rivers 
which  flow  into  the  lake  that  are  bordered 
by  many  fine  trees,  of  the  same  sorts  that 
we  have  in  France,  with  a  quantity  of  vines 
more  beautiful  than  any  I  had  seen  in  any 
other  place;  many  chestnut  trees,  and  I 
have  not  seen  any  at  all  before,  except  on 
the  shores  of  the  lake,  where  there  is  a  great 
abundance  of  fish  of  a  good  many  varieties. 
Among  other  kinds  there  is  one  called  by 

*Lake  Champlain  is  about  90  miles  long. 

"^These  dimensions  are  overstated  three-fold,  S. 
The  islands  were  Isle  la  Motte,  Long  Island, 
Grand  Isle,  and  Valcour.    L. 

205 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

the  savages  Chaousarou,^  which  is  of  vari- 
ous lengths ;  but  the  longest,  as  these  people 
told  me,  is  eight  or  ten  feet.  I  saw  some  of 
them  five  feet  long,  as  big  as  a  man's  thigh, 
with  a  head  as  large  as  two  fists,  a  snout 
two  and  a  half  feet  long,  and  a  double  row 
of  very  sharp  and  dangerous  teeth.  Its 
body  is,  in  all  respects,  like  that  of  the  pike, 
but  it  is  armed  with  scales  so  strong  that  a 
dagger  could  not  pierce  them,  and  it  is  sil- 
ver grey  in  color.  And  the  end  of  its  snout 
is  like  that  of  a  pig.  This  fish  fights  all  the 
others  in  the  lakes  and  rivers,  and  is  won- 
derfully cunning,  to  judge  from  what  the 
people  have  assured  me,  which  is,  that 
when  it  wishes  to  catch  certain  birds,  it  goes 
into  the  rushes  or  weeds  which  border  the 
lake  in  several  places,  and  puts  its  snout 
out  of  the  water  without  moving  at  all,  so 
that  when  the  birds  come  to  light  on  its 
snout,  thinking  that  it  is  the  trunk  of  a 
tree,  the  fish  is  so  skillful  in  closing  its 
snout,  which  had  been  half  open,  that  it 
draws  the  birds  under  the  water  by  the  feet. 
The  savages  gave  me  a  head  of  one  of 
them.  They  set  great  store  by  them,  saying 
that  when  they  have  a  headache  they 
bleed    themselves    with    the    teeth    of    this 

The  gar  pike,  or  bonj^-scaled  pike.    See  the  note 
in  Voyages  of  Champlain,  II,  216. 

206 


SAMUEL    DE    CHAMPLAIN 

fish  where  the  pain  is,  and  it  passes  off 
at  once. 

Continuing  our  course  in  this  lake  on  the 
west  side  I  saw,  as  I  was  observing  the 
country,  some  very  high  mountains  on  the 
east  side,  with  snow  on  the  top  of  them/  I 
inquired  of  the  savages  if  these  places  were 
inhabited.  They  told  me  that  they  were — by 
the  Iroquois — and  that  in  these  places  there 
were  beautiful  valleys  and  open  stretches 
fertile  in  grain,  such  as  I  had  eaten  in  this 
country,  with  a  great  many  other  fruits ;  and 
that  the  lake  went  near  some  mountains, 
which  were  perhaps,  as  it  seemed  to  me, 
about  fifteen  leagues  from  us.  I  saw  on  the 
south  others  not  less  high  than  the  first, 
but  they  had  no  snow  at  all.®  The  savages 
told  me  that  it  was  there  that  we  were  to 
go  to  find  their  enemies,  and  that  these 
mountains  were  thickly  peopled.  They  also 
said  it  was  necessary  to  pass  a  rapid,^  which 
I  saw  afterward,  and  from  there  to  enter 
another  lake,  three  or  four  leagues  long;^*^ 

'The  Green  Mountains.  Mr.  Slafter  thinks 
Champlain  took  outcroppings  of  white  limestone 
for  snow.  The  Green  Mountains  would  not  have 
snow  on  them  in  July,  as  they  are  only  about  4000 
feet  high. 

*The  Adirondacks. 

'The  outlet  of  Lake  George. 

*°Lake  George. 

207 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

and  that  when  we  had  reached  the  end  of 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  follow  a  trail 
for  four  leagues,  and  to  pass  over  a  river^^ 
which  empties  on  the  coast  of  the  Almou- 
chiquois/^  near  the  coast  of  Norumbegue  ;^^ 
and  that  it  was  only  two  days'  journey  by 
their  canoes,  as  I  have  [also]  learned  since 
from  some  prisoners  that  we  took,  who  de- 
scribed to  me  very  much  in  detail  all  that 
they  had  found  out  themselves  about  the 
matter  through  some  Algonquin  interpret- 
ers who  knew  the  Iroquois  language. 

Now,  as  we  began  to  approach  within 
two  or  three  days'  journey  of  the  home  of 
their  enemies,  we  did  not  advance  more, 
except  at  night,  and  by  day  we  rested.  Nev- 
ertheless, they  did  not  omit,  at  any  time,  the 
practice  of  their  customary  superstitions,  to 
find  out  how  much  of  their  undertakings 
would  succeed,  and  they  often  came  to  me 
to  ask  if  I  had  dreamed,  and  if  I  had  seen 
their  enemies.  I  answered  them  ''no,"  and 
told  them  to  be  of  good  courage  and  to 
keep  up  hope.    When  night  came  we  pur- 

"The  Hudson. 

"The  Massachusetts  coast. 

"Adopting  Laverdiere's  emendation  founded  on 
the  text  of  the  1613  narrative.  The  text  of  the 
1632  narrative  merely  repeats  Almouchiquois 
twice. 

208 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

sued  our  journey  until  daylight,  when  we 
withdrew  into  the  thickest  part  of  the 
woods  and  passed  the  rest  of  the  day  there. 
About  ten  or  eleven  o'clock,  after  having 
taken  a  little  walk  around  our  encampment, 
I  went  to  rest;  and  I  dreamed  that  I  saw 
the  Iroquois,  our  enemies,  in  the  lake,  near 
a  mountain,  drowning  within  our  sight ;  and 
when  I  wished  to  help  them  our  savage  al- 
lies told  me  that  we  must  let  them  all  die, 
and  that  they  were  worthless.  When  I  woke 
up  they  did  not  fail  to  ask  me,  as  is  their 
custom,  if  I  had  dreamed  anything.  I  told 
them  the  substance  of  what  I  had  dreamed. 
This  gave  them  so  much  faith  that  they  no 
longer  doubted  that  good  was  to  befall 
them. 

When  evening  came  we  embarked  in  our 
canoes  to  continue  on  our  way ;  and,  as  we 
were  going  along  very  quietly,  and  without 
making  any  noise,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of 
the  month,^*  we  met  the  Iroquois  at  ten 
o'clock  at  night  at  the  end  of  a  cape  that 
projects  into  the  lake  on  the  west  side,^' 
and  they  were  coming  to  war.  We  both  be- 
gan to  make  loud  cries,  each  getting  his 
arms  ready.  ;We  withdrew  toward  the  wa- 
ter and  the  Iroquois  went  ashore  and  ar» 

■-■  "July  29,  1609.       ^-'V*-^-^^-^ 
*^A.t  Ticonderoga. 

209 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

ranged  their  canoes  in  line,  and  began  to 
cut  down  trees  with  poor  axes,  which  they 
get  in  war  sometimes,  and  also  with  others 
of  stone;  and  they  barricaded  themselves 
very  well. 

Our  men  also  passed  the  whole  night  with 
their  canoes  drawn  up  close  together,  fas- 
tened to  poles,  so  that  they  might  not  get 
scattered,  and  might  fight  all  together,  if 
there  were  need  of  it ;  we  were  on  the  water 
within  arrow  range  of  the  side  where  their 
barricades  were. 

When  they  were  armed  and  in  array,  they 
sent  two  canoes  set  apart  from  the  others 
to  learn  from  their  enemies  if  they  wanted 
to  fight.  They  replied  that  they  desired  noth- 
ing else ;  but  that,  at  the  moment,  there  was 
not  much  light  and  that  they  must  wait  for 
the  daylight  to  recognize  each  other,  and 
that  as  soon  as  the  sun  rose  they  would  open 
the  battle.  This  was  accepted  by  our  men ; 
and  while  we  waited,  the  whole  night  was 
passed  in  dances  and  songs,  as  much  on  one 
side  as  on  the  other,  with  endless  insults, 
and  other  talk,  such  as  the  little  courage 
they  had,  their  feebleness  and  inability  to 
make  resistance  against  their  arms,  and  that 
when  day  came  they  should  feel  it  to  their 
ruin.  Our  men  also  were  not  lacking  in  re- 
tort, telling  them  that  they  should  see  suchj 

210 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

power  of  arms  as  never  before ;  and  much 
other  talk,  as  is  customary  in  the  siege  of  a 
city.  After  plenty  of  singing,  dancing,  and 
parleying  with  one  another,  daylight  came. 
My  companions  and  I  remained  concealed 
for  fear  that  the  enemy  should  see  us,  pre- 
paring our  arms  the  best  that  we  could, 
separated,  however,  each  in  one  of  the  ca- 
noes of  the  Montagnais  savages.  After  arm- 
ing ourselves  with  light  armor,  each  of  us 
took  an  arquebuse  and  went  ashore.  I  saw 
the  enemy  come  out  of  their  barricade, 
nearly  200  men,  strong  and  robust  to  look 
at,  coming  slowly  toward  us  with  a  dignity 
and  assurance  that  pleased  me  very  much. 
At  their  head  there  were  three  chiefs.  Our 
men  also  went  forth  in  the  same  order,  and 
they  told  me  that  those  who  wore  three 
large  plumes  were  the  chiefs ;  and  that  there 
were  only  three  of  them ;  and  that  they  were 
recognizable  by  these  plumes,  which  were  a 
great  deal  larger  than  those  of  their  com- 
panions ;  and  that  I  should  do  all  I  could  to 
kill  them.  I  promised  them  to  do  all  in  my 
power,  and  said  that  I  was  very  sorry  that 
they  could  not  understand  me  well,  so  that 
I  might  give  order  and  system  to  their  at- 
tack of  the  enemy,  in  which  case  we  should 
undoubtedly  destroy  them  all ;  but  that  this 
could  not  be  remedied ;  that  I  was  very  glad 

211 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

to  encourage  them  and  to  show  them  the 
good-will  that  I  felt,  when  we  should  en- 
gage in  battlej 

As  soon  as  we  were  ashore  they  began 
to  run  about  200  paces  toward  their  enemy, 
who  were  standing  firmly  and  had  not  yet 
noticed  my  companions,  who  went  into  the 
woods  with  some  savages.  Our  men  began 
to  call  me  with  loud  cries ;  and,  to  give  me 
a  passageway,  they  divided  into  two  parts 
and  put  me  at  their  head,  where  I  marched 
about  twenty  paces  in  front  of  them  until 
I  was  thirty  paces  from  the  enemy.  They 
at  once  saw  me  and  halted,  looking  at  me, 
and  I  at  them.  When  I  saw  them  making  a 
move  to  shoot  at  us,  I  rested  my  arque- 
buse  against  my  cheek  and  aimed  directly 
at  one  of  the  three  chiefs.  With  the  same 
shot  two  of  them  fell  to  the  ground,  and  one 
of  their  companions,  who  was  wounded  and 
afterward  died.  I  put  four  balls  into  my 
arquebuse.  When  our  men  saw  this  shot 
so  favorable  for  them,  they  began  to  make 
cries  so  loud  that  one  cotfld  not  have  heard 
it  thunder.  Meanwhile  the  arrows  did  not 
fail  to  fly  from  both  sides.  The  Iroquois 
were  much  astonished  that  two  men  had 
been  so  quickly  killed,  although  they  were 
provided  with  armor  woven  from  cotton 
thread  and  from  wood,  proof  against  their 

212 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

arrows.  This  alarmed  them  greatly.  As  i 
was  loading  again,  one  of  my  companions 
fired  a  shot  from  the  woods,  which  aston- 
ished them  again  to  such  a  degree  that,  see- 
ing their  chiefs  dead,  they  lost  courage, 
took  to  flight  and  abandoned  the  field  and 
their  fort,  fleeing  into  the  depths  of  the 
woods.  Pursuing  them  thither  I  killed  some 
more  of  them.  Our  savages  also  killed  sev- 
eral of  them  and  took  ten  or  twelve  of  them 
prisoners.  The  rest  escaped  with  the 
wounded.  There  were  fifteen  or  sixteen  of 
our  men  wounded  by  arrow  shots,  who  were 
soon  healed. 

/After  we  had  gained  the  victory  they 
amused  themselves  by  taking  a  great  quan- 
tity of  Indian  corn  and  meal  from  their  ene- 
mies, and  also  their  arms,  which  they  had 
left  in  order  to  run  better.  And  having 
made  good  cheer,  danced  and  sung,  we  re- 
turned three  hours  afterward  with  the  pris- 
oners.  ' 

This  place,  where  this  charge  was  made, 
is  in  latitude  43  degrees  and  some  minutes, 
and  I  named  the  lake  Lake  Champlain. 


213 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


CHAPTER  X 

Return  from  the  battle,  and  what  happened  on 
the  way. 

After  going  eight  leagues,  toward  even- 
ing they  took  one  of  the  prisoners  and 
harangued  him  about  the  cruelties  that  he 
and  his  people  had  inflicted  on  them,  with- 
out having  any  consideration  for  them ;  and 
said  that  similarly  he  ought  to  make  up  his 
mind  to  receive  as  much.  They  commanded 
him  to  sing,  if  he  had  any  courage;  which 
he  did,  but  it  was  a  song  very  sad  to  hear. 

Meanwhile  our  men  lighted  a  fire,  and 
when  it  was  blazing  well,  each  one  took  a 
brand  and  burned  this  poor  wretch  little  by; 
little,  to  make  him  suffer  greater  torment. 
Sometimes  they  stopped  and  threw  water 
on  his  back.  Then  they  tore  out  his  nails 
and  put  the  fire  on  the  ends  of  his  fingers 
and  on  his  privy  member.  Afterward  they 
flayed  the  top  of  his  head  and  dripped  on 
top  of  it  a  kind  of  gum  all  hot;  then  they 
pierced  his  arms  near  the  wrists,  and  with 
sticks  pulled  the  sinews,  and  tore  them  out 
by  force ;  and  when  they  saw  that  they  could 
not  get  them,  they  cut  them.     This  poor 

214 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN 

wretch  uttered  strange  cries,  and  I  pitied 
him  when  I  saw  him  treated  in  this  way; 
and  yet  he  showed  such  endurance  that  one 
would  have  said  that,  at  times,  he  did  not 
feel  any  pain. 

They  strongly  urged  me  to  take  some  fire 
and  do  as  they  were  doing,  but  I  explained 
to  them  that  we  did  not  use  such  cruelties 
at  all,  and  that  we  killed  them  at  once,  and 
that  if  they  wished  me  to  fire  a  musket  shot 
at  him  I  would  do  it  gladly.  They  said 
**no,"  and  that  he  would  not  feel  any  pain, 
I  went  away  from  them,  distressed  to  see  so 
much  cruelty  as  they  were  practising  upon 
this  body.  When  they  saw  that  I  was  not 
pleased  at  it,  they  called  me  and  told  me  to 
fire  a  musket  shot  at  him ;  which  I  did  with- 
out his  seeing  it  at  all.  After  he  was  dead 
they  were  not  satisfied,  for  they  opened  his 
belly  and  threw  his  entrails  into  the  lake; 
then  they  cut  off  his  head,  his  arms,  and 
his  legs,  which  they  scattered  in  different 
directions,  and  kept  the  scalp,  which  they 
had  skinned  off,  as  they  had  done  with  all 
the  others  that  they  had  killed  in  the  battle. 

They  committed  also  another  wickedness, 
which  was  to  take  the  he-^rt  which  they  cut 
into  several  pieces  and  gavHb  a  brother  of 
his  and  others  of  his  companions,  who  were 
prisoners,  to  eat.     They  put  it  into  their 

215 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

mouths,  but  would  not  swallow  it.  Some 
Algonquin  savages,  who  were  guarding 
them,  made  some  of  them  spit  it  out  and 
threw  it  into  the  water.  This  is  how  these 
people  treat  those  whom  they  capture  in 
war ;  and  it  would  be  better  for  them  to  die 
in  fighting,  or  to  kill  themselves  on  the  spur 
of  the  moment,  as  there  are  many  who  do, 
rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  their  ene- 
mies. After  this  execution  we  resumed  our 
march  to  return  with  the  rest  of  the  pris- 
oners, who  always  went  along  singing, 
without  any  hope  of  being  better  treated 
than  the  other.  When  we  arrived  at  the 
rapids  of  the  River  of  the  Iroquois,^  the 
Algonquins  returned  to  their  country,  and 
also  the  Ochateguins^  with  some  of  the  pris- 
oners. They  were  well  pleased  with  what 
had  taken  place  in  the  war,  and  that  I  had 
gone  with  them  readily.  So  we  separated 
with  great  protestations  of  friendship,  and 
they  asked  me  if  I  did  not  wish  to  go  into 
their  country  to  aid  them  always  as  a 
brother.  I  promised  that  I  would  do  so, 
and  I  returned  with  the  Montagnais. 

After  informing  myself,  through  the  pris- 
oners, about  their  j:ountry,  and  about  how 
large  it  might  uC,  we  packed  up  the  bag- 

*The  Richelieu. 
*Hurons. 

2l6 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

gage  to  return;  which  we  did  with  sucH 
speed  that  every  day  we  made  25  or  30 
leagues  in  their  canoes,  which  is  the  ordi- 
nary rate.^  When  we  were  at  the  mouth  of 
the  River  Iroquois,  there  were  some  of  the 
savages  who  dreamed  that  their  enemies 
were  pursuing  them.  This  dream  at  once 
led  them  to  move  the  camp,  ahhough  the 
night  was  very  bad  on  account  of  winds 
and  rain;  and  they  went  to  pass  the  night 
among  some  high  reeds,  which  are  in  Lake 
St.  Peter,  until  the  next  day.  Two  days 
afterward  we  reached  our  settlement,  where 
I  had  them  given  bread,  peas  and  beads, 
which  they  asked  me  for  to  ornament  the 
heads*  of  their  enemies,  in  order  to  make 

"This  is  an  overstatement,  unless  it  means  witK 
a  rapid  current. 

*Here,  apparently  in  the  sense  of  scalps.  Cham- 
plain  uses  "teste,"  "head,"  where  we  should  ex- 
pect "chevelure,"  which  was  used  for  "scalp"  by 
the  later  writers. 

It  is  possible  that  he  used  the  word  (or  form)' 
"test"  which  is  recorde  A  in  Cotgrave's  French  and 
English  Dictionary,  1673,  as  meaning  "the  scalp 
or  skull  of  the  head,"  and  that  the  printer  set  it 
up  "teste."  In  Robert  Sherwood's  Dictionary 
English  and  French,  1672,  the  definition  of  the 
hairy  scalp  is:  "Perecraine;  tais,  test,  tests."  In 
James  Howell's  Lexicon  Tetraglotton:  An  Eng- 
lish-French-Italian-Spanish  Dictionary,  London, 
1660,  the  definition  is  the  same,  except  that  the 
second  word  is  spelled  "teste."    There  would  be 

217 


\  ^^OYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

merry  on  their  arrival.  The  next  day  I 
.went  with  them  in  their  canoes  to  Tadous- 
sac,  to  see  their  ceremonies.  As  they  ap- 
proached the  shore  each  one  took  a  stick 
with  the  heads  of  their  enemies  hung  on 
^the  ends,  with  these  beads  on  them,  singing 
one  and  all.  When  they  were  near  the 
shore  the  women  undressed  entirely  naked 
and  threw  themselves  into  the  water,  going 
in  front  of  the  canoes,  to  take  the  heads  to 
hang  afterward  to  their  necks,  Hke  a  pre- 
cious chain.  Some  days  afterward  they 
made  me  a  present  of  one  of  these  heads 
and  of  two  sets  of  their  enemies'  weapons, 
to  preserve,  in  order  to  show  them  to  the 
King;  which  I  promised  to  do,  to  give 
them  pleasure. 

no  need  of  discussing  this  point  except  for  the 
fact  that  Champlain's  words  might  be  taken  as 
evidence  that  the  Canadian  Indians  beheaded 
their  captives,  as  was  true  of  the  New  England 
Indians. 

On  this  question  see  "The  Scalp  Trophy"  by- 
Francis  C.  Qark,  The  M^cazine  of  History,  Jan- 
uary, 1906,  29-39,  and  February,  1906,  105-I14. 
That  the  Canadian  Indians  practiced  scalping  in 
Cartier's  time  (1535)  is  proved  by  his  remark, 
*'et  nous  fut  par  ledict  Donnacona  monstre  les 
peaulx  de  cinq  testes  d'homme  estandus  sur  du 
boys  come  paulx  de  pchermin"  (Bref  Recit, 
Tross  ed.,  29),  and  by  Champlain's  reinark,  p.  215, 
above.  His  other  references  to  scalping  will  be 
found  below,  p.  225;  vol.  II,  pp.  2,  31,  160. 

218 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 


CHAPTER   XI 

Defeat  of  the  Iroquois  near  the  mouth  of  this 
River  Iroquois. 

In  the  year  i6io,^  when  I  had  gone  with 
a  bark  and  some  men  from  Quebec  to  the 
mouth  of  the  River  Iroquois,  to  wait  for 
400  savages,  who  were  to  join  me,  so  that 
I  might  aid  them  in  another  war,  which 
turned  out  to  be  more  imminent  than  we 
thought,  an  Algonquin  savage  in  a  canoe 
came  swiftly  to  warn  me  that  the  Algon- 
quins  had  encountered  the  Iroquois,  who 
numbered  one  hundred,  and  that  they  were 
well  barricaded,  and  that  it  would  be  hard 

*Champlain  returned  to  France  in  the  fall  of 
1609,  setting  out  from  Tadoussac  Sept.  5  and  ar- 
riving at  Honiieur  Oct.  13.  He  had  interviews 
vv^ith  De  Monts  and  with  the  King,  Henry  IV, 
and  set  out  on  his  return  from  Honfleur  March 
7.  He  arrived  at  Tadoussac  April  2^.  Two  days 
later  he  started  for  Quebec.  A  war  party  of 
Montagnais  soon  appeared  at  Quebec  and  re- 
minded Champlain  of  his  promises  of  the  previous 
year.  He  kept  his  word,  starting  June  14,  and  in 
this  narrative  takes  up  the  thread  at  his  arrival 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Richelieu.  See  Voyages  of 
Champlain,  II,  227-238;  Laverdiere,  Voyages, 
J613,  200-212. 

219 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

to  get  the  upper  hand  of  them  if  the  Misthi- 
gosches  (as  they  call  us)  did  not  come 
promptly. 

At  once  the  alarm  began  among  some  of 
the  savages,  and  each  one  jumped  into  his 
canoe  with  his  arms.  They  were  promptly 
ready,  but  in  confusion;  for  they  hurried 
so,  that,  instead  of  advancing,  they  delayed 
themselves.  They  came  to  our  bark,  beg- 
ging me  to  go  with  them  in  their  canoes, 
and  my  companions  also,  and  urged  me  so 
hard  that  I  embarked  in  one  with  four  oth- 
ers. I  asked  La  Routte,  who  was  our  pilot, 
to  stay  in  the  bark  and  send  me  four  or  five 
more  of  my  companions. 

When  we  had  gone  about  half  a  league 
across  the  river,  all  the  savages  went  ashore 
and,  abandoning  their  canoes,  took  their 
shields,  bows,  arrows,  clubs  and  swords, 
which  they  fasten  to  the  end  of  big  sticks, 
and  began  to  run  into  the  woods  in  such  a 
way  that  we  soon  lost  them  from  view,  and 
they  left  us  five  without  a  guide.  Never- 
theless, we  kept  following  them  and  went 
about  half  a  league  into  the  thick  woods, 
into  fens  and  marshes,  always  with  water 
to  our  knees,  each  armed  with  the  corselet 
of  a  pikeman,  which  was  very  burdensome. 
Besides,  there  were  quantities  of  mosquitoes 
so  thick  that  they  scarcely  allowed  us  to 

220 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

catch  our  breath  at  all ;  they  persecuted  us 
so  much  and  so  cruelly  that  it  was  a  strange 
experience.    Nor  did  we  know  where  we 
were  until  we  noticed  two  savages  crossing 
the  woods.   We  called  them,  and  told  them 
that  they  must  stay  with  us  to  guide  us  and 
conduct  us  to  where  the  Iroquois  were,  and 
that  otherwise  we  could  not  go  there,  and 
we  should  lose  our  way.     This  they  did. 
After  going  a  little  way,  we  noticed  a  sav- 
age coming  swiftly  to  look  for  us,  to  have 
us  advance  as  quickly  as  possible.    He  gave 
me  to  understand  that  the  Algonquins  and 
the  Montagnais  had  tried  to  force  the  bar- 
ricade, and  that  they  had  been  repulsed  and 
the  best  men  of  the  Montagnais  had  been 
killed  and  several  others  wounded.     They 
had  withdrawn  to  wait  for  us,  and  their 
hope  was  altogether  in  us.    We  had  not 
gone  more  than  an  eighth  of  a  league  with 
this  savage,  who  was  the  captain  of  the  Al- 
gonquins, when  we  heard  the  yells  and  cries 
of  both,  calling  one  another  names,  and  at 
the  same  time  skirmishing  lightly  while  they 
waited  for  us.   As  soon  as  the  savages  saw 
us,  they  began  to  shout  in  such  a  way  that 
one  would  not  have  heard  it  thunder.     I 
ordered  my  companions  to  follow  me  all  the 
time,  and  not  to  separate  from  me  at  all.   I 
went  near  to  the  barricade  of  the  enemy  to 

221 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS   ' 

explore  it.  It  was  made  of  heavy  trees  set 
close  together  in  a  circle,  which  is  the  usual 
shape  of  their  fortresses.  All  the  Montag- 
nais  and  Algonquins  also  approached  this 
barricade.  Then  we  began  to  discharge  a 
great  many  musket  shots  through  the  foli- 
age, since  we  could  not  see  them  as  they 
could  us.  I  was  wounded  as  I  was  shoot- 
ing the  first  time  into  the  side  of  their  bar- 
ricade, by  an  arrow  shot  which  slit  the  end 
of  my  ear  and  entered  my  neck.  I  took 
hold  of  it  and  pulled  it  out;  it  was  barbed 
on  the  end  with  a  very  sharp  stone.  An- 
other of  my  companions  was  wounded  at 
the  same  time  in  the  arm  by  another  arrow, 
which  I  pulled  out  for  him.  Nevertheless, 
my  wound  did  not  prevent  me  from  doing 
my  duty,  nor  our  savages  from  doing  their 
part ;  and  likewise  the  enemy,  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  the  arrows  were  seen  flying  from 
one  side  and  the  other  as  thick  as  hail.  The 
Iroquois  were  astonished  at  the  noise  of  our 
muskets,  and  especially  at  the  fact  that  the 
balls  pierced  better  than  their  arrows ;  and 
they  were  so  frightened  at  the  effect  of 
them,  when  they  saw  several  of  their  com- 
panions fall  dead  and  wounded,  that,  on  ac- 
count of  their  fear,  thinking  these  shots 
could  not  be  cured,  they  threw  themselves 
on  the  ground  when  they  heard  the  noise; 

222 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

and  we  hardly  missed  a  shot  and  fired  two 
or  three  balls  at  a  time,  and  most  of  the 
time  we  had  our  muskets  resting  on  the 
edge  of  their  barricade.  When  I  saw  that 
our  ammunition  was  beginning  to  fail,  I 
said  to  all  the  savages  that  they  must  over- 
come them  by  force  and  break  their  barri- 
cade; and  to  do  this  they  must  take  their 
shields  and  cover  themselves  with  them,  and 
thus  get  so  near  that  ropes  could  be  tied  to 
the  posts  which  held  them  up,  and  then,  by 
main  strength,  they  could  pull  hard  enough 
to  throw  them  over,  and  by  this  means 
make  a  big  enough  opening  to  get  into  their 
fort;  and  that,  meanwhile,  we  would  keep 
back  the  enemy  by  musket  shots  when  they 
came  out  to  stop  our  men ;  and  also  that  a 
certain  number  should  go  behind  some  big 
trees  that  were  near  this  barricade,  in  order 
to  throw  them  over  on  them  to  crush  them ; 
that  others  should  protect  them  with  their 
shields,  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  injuring 
them,  which  they  did  promptly.  And  as 
they  were  about  to  accomplish  it,  the  bark, 
which  was  a  league  and  a  half  from  us, 
heard  us  fighting,  through  the  echo  of  our 
muskets,  which  resounded  as  far  ofif  as  they 
were ;  this  led  a  young  man  from  St.  Malo, 
full  of  courage,  called  Des  Prairies,  who 
had  his  bark  near  us  to  trade  in  skins,  to  say 

221 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

to  all  those  who  were  there  that  it  was  a 
great  shame  for  them  to  see  me  fighting  in 
this  way  with  the  savages,  without  coming 
to  my  aid,  and  that,  for  his  part,  he  had  too 
much  regard  for  his  honor,  and  did  not 
wish  any  one  to  be  able  to  reproach  him  in 
this  way,  and  thereupon  he  decided  to  come 
to  me  in  a  shallop  with  some  of  his  com- 
panions, and  of  mine,  whom  he  took  with 
him.  As  soon  as  he  arrived  he  went  toward 
the  fort  of  the  Iroquois,  which  was  on  the 
bank  of  the  river.    There  he  went  ashore 
and  came  to  find  me.   When  I  saw  him  I 
ordered  the   savages  who  were    breaking 
down  the  fortress,  to  stop,  so  that  the  new- 
comers might  have  their  part  of  the  pleas- 
ure.   I  begged  Sieur  des  Prairies  and  his 
companions  to  fire  some  salutes  of  the  mus- 
ket before  our  savages  should  take  the  ene- 
my by  storm,  as  they  had  decided  to  do ;  this 
they  did,  and  they  shot  several  times,  each 
one  doing  his  duty.    When  they  had  shot 
enough  I  addressed  our  savages  and  incited 
them  to  complete  the  work.     Immediately 
approaching  the  barricade,  as  they  had  done 
before,  with  us  on  their  flank,  to  shoot  at 
any  who  should  try  to  hinder  the  destruc- 
tion, they  bore  themselves  so  well  and  so 
valorously  that,  with  the  help  of  our  mus- 
kets, they  made  an  opening  in  it,  though  it 

224 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

was  one  hard  to  get  through,  since  it  was 
the  height  of  a  man  from  the  ground  and 
there  were  the  branches  of  the  trees  that 
had  been  felled,  which  were  very  trouble- 
some. However,  when  I  saw  a  sufficiently 
practicable  entrance,  I  gave  orders  not  to 
fire  any  more,  which  were  obeyed.  At  the 
same  moment  twenty  or  thirty,  not  only  of 
savages,  but  our  men,  went  in,  sword  in 
hand,  scarcely  meeting  any  resistance.  At 
once  all  who  were  sound  began  to  flee,  but 
they  did  not  go  far,  for  they  were  cut  down 
by  those  who  were  around  the  barricade, 
and  those  who  escaped  were  drowned  in  the 
river.  We  took  fifteen  prisoners  and  the 
rest  were  killed  by  musket  shots,  by  arrows 
and  by  swords.  When  this  was  done  there 
came  another  shallop  with  some  of  our 
companions  in  it,  who  were  too  late,  al- 
though in  time  enough  to  strip  the  booty. 
This  did  not  amount  to  much,  for  there 
was  nothing  but  robes  of  beaver  on  dead 
bodies  covered  with  blood,  which  the  sav- 
ages would  not  take  the  trouble  to  plunder, 
and  they  laughed  at  those  who  did  it,  name- 
ly, those  in  the  last  shallop.  Having  gained 
the  victory  by  the  grace  of  God,  they  gave 
us  much  praise. 

These  savages  scalped  the  heads  of  their 
dead  enemies,  as  they  are  accustomed  to  do, 

225 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

as  a  trophy  of  their  victory,  and  took  them 
away.  They  returned  with  fifty  of  their  own 
men  wounded,  and  three  of  the  Montagnais 
and  Algonquins  dead,  singing,  their  prison- 
ers with  them.  They  hung  these  heads^  on 
sticks  in  front  of  their  canoes,  and  a  dead 
body  cut  into  quarters,  to  eat  in  revenge,' 
as  they  said;  and  they  came  in  this  way  to 
where  our  barks  were,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  River  of  the  Iroquois. 

My  companions  and  I  set  sail  in  a  shal- 
lop, where  I  had  my  wound  dressed.  I 
asked  the  savages  for  an  Iroquois  prisoner, 
whom  they  gave  me.  I  saved  him  from  a 
good  many  tortures  that  he  would  have  suf- 
fered, such  as  they  inflicted  upon  his  com- 
panions, whose  nails  they  tore  out,  whose 
fingers  they  cut  off,  and  whom  they  burned 
in  many  places.  That  day  they  killed  three  of 
them  in  this  way.  They  took  others  to  the 
edge  of  the  water  and  fastened  them  all 
erect  to  a  stake,  then  each  one  came  with  a 
torch  of  birch  bark  and  burned  him  now  in 
one  place,  now  in  another;  and  these  poor 
wretches,  when  they  felt  the  fire,  shrieked 
so  loud  that  it  was  a  strange  thing  to  hear 

*Here,  meaning  scalps. 

'See  Parkman's  note,  Pioneers  of  New  France, 
359,  on  ceremonial  or  superstitious  cannibalism 
among  tlie  Indians. 

226 


SAMUEL  DE   CHAMPLAIN 

them.  After  making  them  suffer  in  tliis 
way,  they  took  some  water  and  threw  it 
over  their  bodies,  to  make  them  suffer 
more;  then  they  applied  the  fire  again  in 
such  a  way  that  the  skin  fell  from  their 
bodies,  and  they  continued  to  cry  out 
loudly  and  to  exclaim,  dancing  until 
these  poor  unfortunates  fell  dead  on  the 
spot. 

As  soon  as  a  body  fell  to  the  ground  they 
beat  it  with  heavy  blows  of  a  stick,  then 
cut  off  the  arms  and  legs  and  other  parts 
of  it,  and  he  was  not  regarded  as  a  man  of 
importance  among  them  who  did  not  cut 
off  a  piece  of  the  flesh  and  give  it  to  the 
dogs.  Nevertheless,  all  these  tortures  were 
endured  with  such  firmness  that  those  who 
look  on  are  astonished. 

As  for  the  othe^  prisoners  who  remained, 
whether  to  the  A^^'^onquins  or  the  Montag- 
nais,  they  werr  i  'pt  to  be  killed  by  the 
hands  of  their  Wi  J.?s  and  daughters,  who 
in  this  do  not  show  themselves  any  less  in- 
human than  the  men,  and  they  even  sur- 
pass them  in  cruelty ;  for,  by  their  cunning, 
they  invent  more  cruel  tortures  and  take 
pleasure  in  making  them  end  their  lives 
thus. 

The  next  day  Captain  Iroquet  arrived, 
and  another  Ochateguin,  who  had    eighty; 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

men  with  him,  and  they  were  very  sorry 
not  to  have  been  at  the  defeat.  Among  all 
these  nations  there  were  very  nearly  two 
hundred  men  who  never  had  seen  Chris- 
tians before,  and  they  wondered  at  them 
greatly. 

We  were  together  three  days  at  an  island 
of  the  River  of  the  Iroquois ;  then  each  na- 
tion returned  to  his  own  country.  I  had  a 
young  fellow*  who  had  passed  two  winters 
at  Quebec,  who  had  a  wish  to  go  with  the 
Algonquins  to  learn  their  language,  get  ac- 
quainted with  the  country,  see  the  great 
lake,  observe  the  rivers,  and  what  people 
inhabited  it;  also  to  explore  the  mines  and 
the  rarer  things  of  this  place,  so  that,  on 
his  return,  he  could  give  us  information 
about  all  these  things.  I  asked  him  if  he 
was  agreeable  to  it,  for  it  ,^as  not  my  wish 
to  force  him  to  it.  I  wei^^-to  find  Captain 
Iroquet,  who  was  very  a:^  ictionate  to  me, 
and  asked  him  if  he  wi  .'led  to  take  this 
young  fellow  with  him  into  his  country,  to 
pass  the  winter,  and  bring  him  back  in  the 
spring.  He  promised  me  to  do  it,  and  treat 
him  like  his  son.    He  told  it  to  the  Algon- 

*Apparently  Etienne  Brule.  Laverdiere,  Voy- 
ages, 1632,  part  I,  178.  For  Brule's  later  history 
see  C  W.  Butterfield,  Stephen  Brule,  Cleveland, 
1898. 

228 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

quins,  who  were  not  too  pleased,  for  fear 
some  accident  should  befall  him. 

When  I  had  shown  them  how  much  I 
wished  it,  they  said  to  me  that  since  I  had 
that  wish  that  they  would  take  him  and 
treat  him  like  a  child  of  their  own.  They 
obliged  me  also  to  take  a  young  man  in  his 
place  to  carry  to  France,  in  order  to  re- 
port to  them  what  he  should  see.  I  ac- 
cepted the  proposition  gladly,  and  was  very 
much  pleased  with  it.  He  was  of  the  tribe 
of  the  Ochateguins  called  Hurons.  This 
gave  them  the  more  reason  for  treating  my 
boy  well,  whom  I  provided  with  what  he 
needed;  and  we  promised  one  another  to 
meet  again  at  the  end  of  June. 

Some  days  afterward  this  Iroquois  pris- 
oner, whom  I  had  under  guard,  on  account 
of  the  excess  of  liberty  that  I  allowed  him, 
got  away  and  escaped,  because  of  the  fear 
and  terror  that  he  felt,  in  spite  of  the  as- 
surances given  him  by  a  woman  of  his  tribe, 
whom  we  had  at  our  settlement. 


229 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

CHAPTER   XII 
Description  of  whaling  in  New  France. 

It^  has  seemed  to  me  not  inappropriate 
to  give  here  a  short  description  of  whale 
fishing,  which  many  people  have  not  seen 
and  believe  to  be  done  by  cannon  shots, 
since  there  are  bold  liars  who  affirm  as 
much  to  those  who  know  nothing  of  it. 
Many  have  obstinately  maintained  it  to  me, 
on  account  of  these  false  reports. 

Those,  then,  who  are  most  skillful  in  this 
fishery  are  the  Basques,^  who,  for  the  pur- 
pose, put  their  ships  in  a  safe  harbor,  near 
where  they  think  there  are  a  good  many 
whales,  and  fit  out  shallops  manned  by  good 
men  and  provided  with  lines,  which  are 
small  ropes  made  of  the  best  hemp  that  can 
be  found,  at  least  150  fathoms  long;  and 

^Champlain  here  omits  the  details  of  his  return 
to  Quebec  and  of  his  leaving  there  Aug.  8  and 
Tadoussac  Aug.  13  for  France.  He  takes  up  the 
thread  with  this  description  of  whaling.  Cf.  Voy- 
ages of  Champlam,  II,  249-252. 

^The  hardy  sailors  of  the  Basque  provinces  in 
Spain  had  been  engaged  in  fishing  and  whaling  off 
Newfoundland  since  the  time  of  the  Cabot  voy- 
ages. 

230 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

they  have  a  great  many  partisans  as  long  as 
a  short  pike,  with  the  iron  six  inches  wide. 
Others  are  a  foot  and  a  half  wide  and  two 
feet  long,  very  sharp.  They  have  in  each 
shallop  a  harpooner,  who  is  the  most  agile 
and  adroit  man  among  them  and  draws  the 
biggest  wages  next  to  the  masters,  inas- 
much as  his  is  the  most  dangerous  position. 
As  soon  as  this  shallop  is  out  of  port,  they 
look  in  every  direction,  tacking  from  one 
side  to  the  other,  to  see  if  they  can  see  and 
discover  a  whale.  If  they  do  not  see  any- 
thing, they  go  ashore  and  climb  the  highest 
point  that  they  can  find,  to  get  a  farther 
view.  There  they  leave  a  man  on  the  watch. 
He  descries  the  whale,  which  is  discovered 
both  by  its  size  and  by  the  water  that  it 
spurts  from  its  blow-holes,  more  than  a 
hogshead  at  a  time  and  to  the  height  of 
two  lances ;  and  by  the  amount  of  water 
that  it  spurts  they  judge  how  much  oil  it 
can  yield.  There  are  some  from  which  they 
draw  as  much  as  120  barrels;  from  others 
it  is  less. 

Upon  seeing  this  tremendous  fish  they 
embark  promptly  in  their  shallops  and,  by 
means  of  oars  or  the  wind,  proceed  until 
they  are  above  him.  Seeing  him  under  wa- 
ter, the  harpooner  at  once  goes  to  the  prow 
of  the  shallop  and  with  a  harpoon,  which 

231 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

is  an  iron  two  feet  long  and  half  a  foot 
wide  at  the  barbs,  attached  to  a  stick  as 
long  as  a  short  pike,  having  in  the  middle 
a  hole  to  which  the  line  is  fastened;  and 
as  soon  as  the  harpooner  sees  his  opportu- 
nity he  throws  his  harpoon  at  the  whale 
and  strikes  him  well  in  the  front,  and,  at 
once,  when  he  feels  the  wound,  he  goes  to 
the  bottom.  And  if  by  chance,  in  turning, 
he  strikes  sometimes  the  shallop  with  his 
tail,  or  the  men,  he  breaks  them  like  glass. 
This  is  all  the  risk  of  being  killed  that  they 
run  in  harpooning.  But  as  soon  as  they 
have  thrown  the  harpoon  into  him  they  pay 
out  their  line  until  the  whale  is  at  the  bot- 
tom; and,  sometimes,  as  they  do  not  go 
down  straight,  they  drag  the  shallop  more 
than  eight  or  nine  leagues,  going  as  fast  as 
a  horse;  and  they  are  obliged  more  often 
than  not  to  cut  their  line,  lest  the  whale 
drag  them  under  water.  When  it  goes 
straight  to  the  bottom  it  stays  there  only  a 
little  while  and  then  returns  very  quietly  to 
the  surface ;  and  as  fast  as  it  rises  they  take 
in  the  line  gently,  and  then,  when  he  is  at 
the  top,  two  or  three  shallops  get  around 
him  with  partisans,  with  which  they  give 
him  several  blows;  and  when  he  feels  the 
blows  he  sounds  again  immediately,  shed- 
ding blood  and  growing  so  weak  that  he  has 

232 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

no  strength  nor  vitality  any  more;  and 
when  he  rises  again  they  succeed  in  killing 
him.  When  he  is  dead  he  does  not  go  to 
the  bottom  again;  and  then  they  tie  him 
with  stout  ropes  and  drag  him  ashore  to 
the  place  where  they  do  their  trying  out; 
that  is,  where  they  have  the  fat  of  this 
.whale  melted,  to  extract  the  oil  from  it. 

This  is  the  way  in  which  they  are  caught, 
and  not  by  cannon  shots,  as  many  think,  as 
I  have  already  said. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

Departure  of  the  author  from  Quebec.  Mont 
Royal  and  its  cliffs.  Islands  where  potter's  clay; 
is  found.    Island  of  Ste.  Helena. 

In  the  year  i6ii^  I  took  back  my  savage 
to  those  of  his  tribe,  who  were  to  come 
to  Sault  St.  Louis,^  intending  to  get  my 

^Champlain  arrived  at  Honfleur  on  his  return 
Sept  27,  1610.  On  March  i,  161 1,  he  set  sail  from 
Honfleur  on  his  return  to  New  France.  He  here 
omits  all  details  of  the  voyage,  in  particular  the 
experiences  with  icebergs,  told  at  some  length  in 
the  earlier  narrative.  He  reached  Quebec  May  21, 
on  his  way  to  the  Sault  St.  Louis.  Cf.  Voyages 
of  Champlain,  III,  1-9. 

*The  Lachine  Rapids. 

i  233 


i    VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

servant  whom  they  had  as  a  hostage.  I 
left  Quebec  May  20  [21]  and  arrived  at 
these  great  rapids  on  the  28th,  where  I  did 
not  find  any  savages,  who  had  promised  me 
to  be  there  on  the  20th  of  the  month.  I 
immediately  went  in  a  poor  canoe  with  the 
savage  that  I  had  taken  to  France  and  one 
of  our  men.  After  having  looked  on  all 
sides,  not  only  in  the  woods,  but  also  along 
the  river  bank,  to  find  a  suitable  place  for 
the  site  of  a  settlement,  and  to  prepare  a 
place  in  which  to  build,  I  went  eight  leagues 
by  land,  along  the  rapids  through  the 
woods,  which  are  rather  open,  and  as  far 
as  a  lake,^  where  our  savage  took  me.  There 
I  contemplated  the  country  very  much  in 
detail.  But  in  all  that  I  saw  I  did  not  find 
any  place  at  all  more  suitable  than  a  little 
spot  which  is  just  where  the  barks  and  shal- 
lops can  come  easily,  either  with  a  strong 
wind  or  by  a  winding  course,  because  of 
the  strength  of  the  current.  Above  this 
place  (which  we  named  La  Place  Royale), 
a  league  from  Mont  Royal,  there  are  a  great 
many  little  rocks  and  shoals,  which  are  very 
dangerous.  And  near  this  Place  Royale 
there  is  a  little  river  running  back  a  good 
way  into  the  interior,  all  along  which  there 
are  more  than  sixty  acres  of  cleared  land, 
t     'The  Lake  of  Two  Mountains.   L. 

234 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

like  meadows/  where  one  might  sow  grain 
and  make  gardens.  Formerly  savages  tilled 
there,  but  they  abandoned  them,  on  account 
of  the  usual  wars  that  they  had  there.  There 
are  also  a  great  number  of  other  beautiful 
meadows,  to  support  as  many  cattle  as  one 
wishes,  and  all  the  kinds  of  trees  that  we 
have  in  our  forests  at  home,  with  a  great 
many  vines,  walnuts,^  plum  trees,  cherries, 
strawberries  and  other  kinds  which  are  very 
good  to  eat.  Among  others  there  is  one 
very  excellent,  which  has  a  sweet  taste,  re- 
sembling that  of  plantains  (which  is  a  fruit 
of  the  Indies),  and  is  as  white  as  snow, 
^vith  a  leaf  like  that  of  the  nettle,  and  run- 
ning on  trees  or  the  ground,  like  ivy.  Fish- 
ing is  very  good  there,  and  there  are  all  the 
kinds  that  we  have  in  France,  and  a  great 
many  others  that  we  do  not  have,  which 
are  very  good ;  as  is  also  game  of  different 

*The  place  selected  by  Champlain  is  now  called 
Pointe  a  Callieres.  "It  is  the  centre  of  the  present 
city  of  Montreal.  The  Custom  House  now  stands 
upon  the  site  he  chose,  and  the  Montreal  ocean 
steamships  discharge  their  cargoes  there.  A  lit- 
tle river,  now  covered  in  and  used  for  drainag^e, 
fell  in  at  that  point,  and  on  its  banks  were  the 
clearings  cultivated  by  the  Hochelagans  of  Car- 
tier  before  the  great  war  drove  them  westwards." 
S.  E.  Dawson,  The  St.  Lawrence,  262. 

■^Here,  noyers  probably  describes  butternuts. 

235 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS    ': 

kinds ;  and  hunting  is  good :  stags,  hinds, 
does,  caribous,  rabbits,  lynxes,  bears,  beav- 
ers and  other  little  animals  which  so  abound 
that  while  we  were  at  these  rapids  we  never 
were  without  them. 

After  having  made  a  careful  exploration, 
then,  and  found  this  place  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  on  this  river,  I  at  once  had  the 
woods  cut  down  and  cleared  from  this  Place 
Royale,  to  make  it  level  and  ready  for  build- 
ing. Water  can  easily  be  made  to  flow 
around  it,  making  a  little  island  of  it,  and 
a  settlement  can  be  made  there  as  one  may^ 
wish. 

There  is  a  little  island  twenty  fathoms 
from  this  Place  Royale,  which  is  about  lOO 
paces  long,  where  one  could  put  up  a  good, 
well-defended  set  of  buildings.  There  are 
also  a  great  many  meadows  containing  very 
good  potter's  clay,  whether  for  bricks  or 
to  build  with,  which  is  a  great  convenience. 
I  had  some  of  it  worked  up,  and  made  a 
wall  of  it  four  feet  thick  and  from  three  to 
four  feet  high  and  ten  fathoms  long,  to  see 
how  it  would  last  through  the  winter  when 
the  floods  came  down,  which,  in  my  opin- 
ion, would  not  rise  to  this  wall,  although  the 
land  is  about  twelve  feet  above  that  river, 
which  is  quite  high.  In  the  middle  of  the 
river  there  is  an  island  about  three-quarters 

236 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

of  a  league  in  circumference,  where  a  good 
and  strong  town  could  be  built,  and  I 
named  it  Isle  de  Ste.  Helene.®  These  rapids 
descend  into  a  sort  of  lake,  where  there  are 
two  or  three  islands  and  some  beautiful 
meadows. 

While  waiting  for  the  savages  I  had  two 
gardens  made :  one  in  the  meadows  and  the 
other  in  the  woods  which  I  had  cleared; 
and  the  second  day  of  June'^  I  sowed 
some  seeds  in  them,  which  came  up 
in  perfect  condition,  and  in  a  little 
while,  which  showed  the  goodness  of  the 
soil. 

I  resolved  to  send  Savignon,  our  savage, 
with  another,  to  meet  those  of  his  country, 
in  order  to  make  them  come  quickly;  and 
they  hesitated  to  go  in  our  canoe,  which 
they  distrusted,  for  it  was  not  good  for 
much. 

On  the  seventh^  I  went  to  explore  a  little 
river,^  by  which  sometimes  the  savages  go 
to  war,  which  leads  to  the  rapids  of  the 

"Laverdiere  suggests  that  this  name  occurred  to 
Champlain  from  his  recent  marriage  with  Helene 
Boulle,  the  daughter  of  Nicolas  Boulle,  secretarj^ 
of  the  King's  Chamber.   Voyages,  1613,  245. 

'1611. 

"Of  June. 

•The  River  St.  Lambert. 
237 


"  VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

river  of  the  Iroquois.^''  It  is  very  pleasant, 
with  meadows  on  it  more  than  three  leagues 
in  circumference,  and  a  great  deal  of  land 
which  could  be  tilled.  It  is  one  league  from 
the  great  rapids^^  and  a  league  and  a  half 
from  Place  Royale. 

On  the  ninth  our  savage  arrived.  He  had 
been  a  little  way  beyond  the  lake/^  which 
is  about  ten  leagues  long,  that  I  have  seen 
before.  He  did  not  meet  anything  there, 
and  could  not  go  any  farther,  because  their 
canoe  gave  out  and  they  were  obliged  to 
return.  They  reported  to  us  that  above  the 
rapids  they  saw  an  island  where  there  were 
so  many  herons  that  the  air  was  filled  with 
them.  There  was  a  young  man  called  Louis, 
who  was  a  great  lover  of  hunting,  who 
when  he  heard  that,  wanted  to  go  there  to 
satisfy  his  curiosity,  and  earnestly  begged 
our  savage  to  take  him  there.  This  the  sav- 
age consented  to  do,  with  a  Montagnais 
chief,  a  very  fine  fellow,  called  Outetoucos. 
In  the  morning  this  Louis  went  to  call  the 
two  savages,  to  go  to  this  island  of  herons. 

"The  Richelieu.  The  route  was  up  the  St.  Lam- 
bert, then  down  the  Montreal  into  Chambly 
Basin,  then  up  the  Richelieu.   L. 

"The  Sault  St.  Louis,  familiar  to  the  modern 
tourist  as  the  Lachine  Rapids. 

"The  Lake  of  the  Two  Mountains. 
238 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

flhey  embarked  in  a  canoe  and  went  there. 
iThis  island  is  in  the  middle  of  the  rapids. 
There  they  took  as  many  herons  and  other 
birds  as  they  wished  and  re-embarked  in 
their  canoe.  Outetoucos,  against  the  wishes 
of  the  other  savage,  and  such  pressure  as 
he   could   bring  to   bear,   wished   to   pass 
through  a  place  that  was  very  dangerous, 
where  the  water  falls  nearly  three  feet,  say- 
ing that  formerly  he  had  gone  that  way, 
which  was  false.    He  was  a  long  time  argu- 
ing with  our  savage,  who  wished  to  take 
him  on  the  south  side,  along  the  mainland, 
where  they  had  been  oftenest  accustomed 
to  pass.  Outetoucos  did  not  want  to  do  this, 
saying    that  there  was  no  danger  at  all. 
.When  our  savage  saw  that  he  was  obstinate 
he  yielded  to  his  wish ;  but  he  told  him  that 
at  least  they  must  empty  out  some  of  the 
birds  that  were  in  the  canoe,  for  it  was 
too    heavily    loaded,    or   they   would   cer- 
tainly fill  with  water  and  be  lost.    This  he 
refused  to  do,  saying  that  it  would  be  time 
enough  when  they  saw  that  there  was  dan- 
ger for  them.  So  they  let  themselves  go  in 
the  current.    When  they  reached  the  main 
iall  of  the  rapids,  they  wished  to  get  out 
of  it  and  throw  over  their  load;  but  there 
was  no  longer  time,  for  the  swiftness  of  the 
water  overmastered  them  and  they  were  im- 

239 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

mediately  engulfed  in  the  whirlpools  of  the 
rapids,  which  turned  them  around  a  thou- 
sand times,  up  and  down,  and  did  not  re- 
lease them  for  a  long  time.  At  last  the  vio- 
lence of  the  water  tired  them  out  so  much 
that  this  poor  Louis,  who  did  not  know  any- 
thing about  swimming,  lost  his  head,  and  as 
the  canoe  was  under  water  he  had  to  let  go 
of  it.  When  it  came  to  the  surface  again 
the  two  others,  who  kept  holding  on  to  it, 
did  not  see  our  Louis  any  more,  and  so  he 
died  miserably. 

When  they  had  got  beyond  this  fall,  Oute- 
toucos,  being  naked  and  having  confidence 
in  his  power  to  swim,  abandoned  the  canoe 
to  get  to  the  land,  but  as  the  water  there 
was  very  swift  he  was  drowned.  For  he 
was  so  tired  out  and  overcome  by  the  labor 
that  he  had  had  that  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  save  himself. 

Our  savage,  Savignon,  being  more  cau- 
tious, kept  holding  to  the  canoe  firmly  until 
it  was  in  an  eddy  whither  the  current  had 
carried  it ;  and  knew  so  well  how  to  act,  in 
spite  of  the  effort  and  fatigue  that  he  had 
undergone,  that  he  came  very  quietly  to 
land,  where  he  threw  the  water  out  of  the 
canoe.  He  returned  in  great  fear  that 
vengeance  would  be  taken  upon  him, 
as    they    do    toward    one    another;    and 

240 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

he   told   us    this    story,    which   caused   us 
sorrow. 

The  next  day  I  went  in  another  canoe  to 
these  rapids  with  this  savage  and  another 
of  our  men,  to  see  the  place  where  they 
were  lost,  and  also  to  try  to  recover  their 
bodies.    I  assure  you  that  when  he  showed 
me  the  spot  my  hair  stood  on  end,  and  I 
was  astonished  that  the  dead  men  had  been 
so  rash  and  so  lacking  in  sense  as  to  pass 
through  so  terrible  a  place  when  they  could 
go  elsewhere ;  for  it  was  impossible  to  pass 
there,   for  there  are  seven  or   eight   falls 
where  the  water  goes  down  as  by  steps,  the 
lowest  three  feet  high,  and  there  is  an  ex- 
traordinary seething  and  boiling.     A  part 
of  these  rapids  was  all  white  with  foam,  and 
the    noise  was  so  great  when  the  air  re- 
sounded with  the  roar  of  the  cataracts  that 
it  sounded  like  thunder.   After  having  seen 
this  place,  and  examined  it  in  detail,  we 
searched  along  the  river  for  these  bodies, 
while  a  rather  light  shallop  was  going  on 
the  other  side,  and  we  returned  without 
finding  them. 


241 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Two  hundred  savages  return  the  Frenchman 
who  had  been  entrusted  to  them,  and  take  back 
the  savage  who  had  returned  from  France.  Vari- 
ous remarks  by  the  author. 

On  the  13th  of  this  month^  two  hundred 
Huron  savages,  with  the  chiefs,  Ochate- 
guin,  Iroquet,  and  Tregouaroti,  brother  of 
our  savage,  brought  back  my  lad.  We  were 
very  glad  to  see  them,  and  I  went  to  meet 
them  with  a  canoe  and  our  savage.  Mean- 
time, they  advanced  quietly  in  order,  our 
men  preparing  to  give  them  a  salvo  with  the 
arquebuses  and  some  small  pieces.  As  they 
were  approaching  they  began  to  shout  all 
together,  and  one  of  the  chiefs  commanded 
their  address  to  be  made,  in  which  they 
praised  us  highly,  calling  us  truthful,  in 
that  I  had  kept  my  word  to  them,  to  come 
to  find  them  at  these  rapids.  After  they  had 
given  three  more  shouts,  a  volley  of  mus- 
ketry was  fired  twice,  which  astonished 
them  so  much  that  they  asked  me  to  tell 
them  that  there  should  not  be  any  shooting, 
saying  that  the  greater  number  of  there 

''June  13,  161 1. 

242 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

never  had  seen  Christians  before,  nor  heard 
thunder ings  of  that  sort,  and  that  they 
were  afraid  of  its  doing  them  harm.  They 
were  very  much  pleased  to  see  our  savage 
well,  for  they  had  supposed  him  dead,  on 
account  of  reports  which  some  Algonquins 
had  made  to  them,  who  had  heard  it  from 
the  Montagnais  savages.  The  savage  warm- 
ly praised  the  good  treatment  that  I  had 
given  him  in  France,  and  the  curious  things 
that  he  had  seen  there,  at  which  he  made 
them  all  wonder ;  and  they  went  away  quiet- 
ly enough  to  their  cabins  in  the  woods,  to 
wait  for  the  morning,  when  I  should  show 
them  the  place  where  I  wished  them  to 
encamp.  I  also  saw  my  lad,  who  was 
dressed  like  a  savage,  and  he  also  praised 
the  treatment  of  the  savages,  according  to 
the  customs  of  their  country ;  and  explained 
to  me  all  that  he  had  seen  in  the  winter, 
and  what  he  had  learned  from  them. 

When  the  next  day  came  I  showed  them 
a  place  for  their  cabins,  with  regard  to 
which  the  elders  and  leading  men  consulted 
by  themselves.  And,  after  spending  a  long 
time  doing  this,  they  had  me  called  alone 
with  my  servant,  who  had  learned  their 
language  very  well,  and  they  told  him  that 
they  desired  to  form  a  close  friendship  with 
me,   in  view  of  the   courtesy  that   I  had 

243 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

shown  them  in  the  past;  and  they  again 
praised  the  treatment  that  I  had  shown  to 
our  savage  as  if  he  were  a  brother,  and 
said  that  that  put  them  under  obligations  to 
wish  me  ?o  much  good  that  all  that  I  de- 
sired of  them  they  would  try  to  provide  me 
with.  After  a  good  deal  of  discourse  they 
made  me  a  present  of  one  hundred  beavers. 
I  gave  them  in  exchange  some  other  kinds 
of  merchandise ;  and  they  told  me  that  there 
were  more  than  four  hundred  savages  who 
were  to  come  from  their  country,  and  that 
what  had  detained  them  was  an  Iroquois 
prisoner  who  belonged  to  me,  who  had  es- 
caped and  had  returned  to  his  country. 
He  had  given  them  to  understand  that  I 
had  given  him  his  liberty  and  some  mer- 
chandise, and  that  I  was  coming  to  the  rap- 
ids with  six  hundred  Iroquois  to  wait  for 
the  Algonquins  and  kill  them  all.  The  fear 
occasioned  by  this  news  had  stopped  them, 
and  that  but  for  that  they  would  have  come. 
I  told  them  that  the  prisoner  had  stolen 
away  without  leave,  and  that  our  savage 
knew  well  in  what  way  he  had  gone,  and 
that  there  had  been  no  thought  of  giving 
up  their  friendship,  as  they  had  been  told, 
since  we  had  gone  to  the  war  in  company 
with  them,  and  had  sent  my  lad  into  their 
couatry  to  accept  their  friendship ;  and  that 

244 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

this  promise  that  I  had  kept  so  faithfully 
to  them  confirmed  this  fact  still  more.  They 
replied  that,  as  far  as  they  were  concerned, 
they  never  had  thought  it  so,  and  that  they 
understood  well  that  all  this  talk  was  far 
from  the  truth ;  and  that  if  they  had  thought 
otherwise  they  would  not  have  come;  and 
that  it  was  the  others  who  were  afraid,  as 
a  consequence  of  never  having  seen  a 
Frenchman,  except  my  youth.  They  also 
told  me  that  three  hundred  Algonquins 
were  coming  in  five  or  six  days,  if  we 
wished  to  wait  for  them,  to  go  to  war  with 
them  against  the  Iroquois,  and  that  if  I  did 
not  go  they  would  return  without  doing  it 
I  talked  with  them  a  great  deal  about  the 
source  of  the  great  river,^  and  about  their 
country,  concerning  which  they  discoursed 
in  detail,  not  only  with  regard  to  the  riv- 
ers, falls,  lakes  and  lands,  but  also  the  peo- 
ples who  inhabit  it,  and  what  is  found  there. 
Four  of  them  assured  me  that  they  had 
seen  a  sea  very  remote  from  their  country, 
and  that  the  path  thither  was  very  difficult, 
not  only  because  of  the  wars,  but  also  be- 
cause of  the  wilderness  that  it  is  necessary 
to  cross  in  order  to  reach  it.  They  also  told 
me  that  the  preceding  winter  some  savages 
came  from  the  region  of  Florida,  beyond 
'The  St.  Lawrence. 

245 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

the  country  of  the  Iroquois,  who  lived  in 
sight  of  our  ocean  sea  and  were  on  friendly 
terms  with  these  savages.  In  fine,  they  gave 
me  very  exact  descriptions,  showing  me  by 
signs  all  the  places  where  they  had  been, 
taking  pleasure  in  recounting  all  these 
things  to  me;  and  I  did  not  get  tired  of 
listening  to  them,  in  order  to  find  out  from 
them  matters  about  which  I  had  been  un- 
certain. When  all  this  talk  was  over  I  told 
them  that  they  should  trade  off  the  few 
commodities  that  they  had ;  which  they  did. 
The  next  day,  after  having  traded  off  all 
that  they  had,  which  was  little,  they  made 
a  barricade  around  their  dwelling  on  the 
side  where  the  woods  were,  and  said  that 
it  was  for  their  safety,  in  order  to  avoid 
being  surprised  by  the  enemy;  which  we 
took  for  gospel  truth.^  When  night  came, 
they  called  our  savage,  who  was  sleeping 
on  my  despatch  boat,  and  my  servant,  and 
they  went  to  them.  After  having  talked 
some  time  they  had  me  called,  too,  about 
midnight.  When  I  came  to  their  cabin  I 
found  them  all  seated  in  council,  and  they 

'Champlain  explains,  in  his  narrative  of  1613, 
that  he  discovered  later  that  these  Indians  were 
suspicious  of  the  other  Frenchmen  and  feared 
they  would  be  attacked.  Voyages  of  CJmmplain, 
II,  22  and  26. 

246 


SAMUEL   DE    CHAMPLAIN 

made  me  sit  near  them,  saying  that  it  was 
their  custom  when  they  wished  to  make  a 
proposition  to  assemble  at  night,  in  order 
not  to  be  diverted  by  looking  at  things,  and 
that  the  daylight  diverted  the  mind  by 
things;  but,  in  my  opinion,  they  wished  to 
tell  me  their  wishes  in  secret,  having  con- 
fidence in  me,  as  they  have  since  given  me 
to  understand,  telling  me  that  they  wanted 
very  much  to  see  me  alone ;  that  some  of 
them  had  been  beaten;  tliat  they  were  as 
well  disposed  toward  me  as  toward  their 
children,  and  had  so  much  confidence  in  me 
that  they  would  do  what  I  said,  but  that 
they  were  very  distrustful  of  other  sav- 
ages ;*  that  if  I  should  return  I  might  take 
as  many  of  their  people  as  I  wished,  pro- 
vided that  they  were  under  the  leadership 
of  a  chief ;  and  that  they  sent  for  me  to  as- 
sure me  further  of  their  friendship,  which 
never  should  be  broken,  and  to  beg  that  I 
should  not  be  ill-disposed  toward  them; 
that  knowing  that  I  had  made  up  my  mind 
to  see  their  country,  they  would  show  it  to 

*For  des  aiitres  sauvages,  the  reading,  to  judge 
from  the  more  detailed  account  in  the  narrative 
of  1613,  should  be  either  des  autres,  i.  e.,  the 
other  Frenchmen,  or  des  autres  pataches,  the  other 
boats,  i.  e.,  those  belonging  to  the  independent 
French  traders  who  had  followed  after  Cham- 
plain.    Cf.  Laverdiere,  Voyages,  161 3,  251,  257. 

247 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

me  at  the  risk  of  their  Hves,  aiding  me  with 
a  goodly  number  of  men  who  could  go  any- 
where ;  and  that  in  the  future  we  should  ex- 
pect the  same  from  them  that  they  did  from 
us.  They  at  once  sent  for  fifty  beavers  and 
four  of  their  shell  necklaces^  (which  they 
value  as  we  do  chains  of  gold).  These 
presents,  they  said,  were  from  the  other 
captains,  who  never  had  seen  me,  and  that 
they  had  sent  them  to  me,  and  that  they  de- 
sired to  be  my  friends  always,  but  that  if 
there  were  any  Frenchmen  who  wished  to 
go  with  them  they  should  be  very  glad,  and 
that  they  wished  more  than  ever  to  main- 
tain a  firm  friendship. 

After  much  talk  I  proposed  to  them  that, 
since  they  were  willing  to  show  me  their 
country,  I  would  ask  His  Majesty  to  aid 
us  with  forty  or  fifty  men  equipped  with 
what  was  necessary  for  this  journey,  and 
that  I  would  embark  with  them,  provided 
that  they  supply  us  with  what  provisions 
we  should  need  during  this  journey;  that 
I  would  take  something  to  them  to  make 
presents  with  to  the  chiefs  of  the  country 
through  which  we  should  go,  and  that  we 
should  return  to  pass  the  winter  in  our  set- 
tlement; that  if  I  should  find  the  country 
to  be  good  and  fertile,  several  settlements 

"^Necklaces  of  wampum. 
248 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

would  be  made  there,  and  that  by  thir 
means  we  should  have  communication  witlk 
one  another,  living  happily  in  the  future  in 
the  fear  of  God,  whom  they  would  be 
taught  to  know. 

They  were  much  pleased  with  this  propo- 
sition, and  asked  me  to  shake  hands  on  it, 
saying  that  they,  on  their  part,  would  do 
all  that  they  could  to  carry  it  out ;  and  that 
as  for  provisions  we  should  not  lack  for 
them  any  more  than  they  themselves;  and 
they  assured  me  once  more  that  I  should 
be  shown  what  I  wished  to  see.  Upon  that 
I  took  my  leave  of  them  at  daybreak,  thank- 
ing them  for  their  willingness  to  favor  my 
desire,  and  begging  them  always  to  con- 
tinue to  feel  so. 

The  next  day,  the  17th  of  that  month,® 
they  decided  to  return  and  to  take  with 
them  Savignon,  to  whom  I  gave  some  trin- 
kets. He  gave  me  to  understand  that  he 
was  going  to  lead  a  hard  life  in  compari- 
son with  that  which  he  had  had  in  France. 
So  he  went  off  with  great  regret,  and  I 
was  very  glad  to  be  relieved  of  him.  Two 
captains  told  me  that  in  the  morning  of  the 
next  day  they  would  send  to  fetch  me; 
which  they  did.  I  and  my  servant  embarked 
with  those  who  came.  When  we  came  to 
'June  17,  161 1. 

249 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

the  rapids  we  went  some  leagues  into  the 
woods,  where  they  were  encamped  on  the 
lake,  where  I  had  been  before.  When  they 
saw  me  they  were  very  much  pleased  and 
began  to  shout,  according  to  their  custom, 
and  our  savage  came  to  me  to  ask  me  to  go 
into  his  brother's  cabin,  where  he  at  once 
had  meat  and  fish  put  over  the  fire  to  give 
me  a  feast. 

While  I  was  there  a  feast  was  held,  to 
which  all  the  leaders  and  I  also  were  in- 
vited. And  although  I  had  already  had  a 
good  meal,  nevertheless,  in  order  not  to  of- 
fend against  the  custom  of  the  country,  I 
went  to  it.  After  banqueting  they  went  into 
the  woods  to  hold  their  council,  and,  mean- 
while, I  amused  myself  in  looking  at  the 
landscape,  which  is  very  pretty.  Some  time 
afterward  they  sent  for  me,  to  tell  me  what 
they  had  resolved  upon  among  themselves. 
I  went  to  them  with  my  servant.  When  I 
had  seated  myself  near  them  they  told  me 
that  they  were  glad  to  see  me,  and  that  I 
had  not  failed  to  keep  my  word  as  to  what 
I  had  promised  them;  and  that  they  real- 
ized my  kind  intentions  more  and  more, 
which  were  to  keep  up  my  friendship  fur- 
ther; and  that  before  going  away  they 
wished  to  take  leave  of  me;  and  that  it 
would   have   been   very   disappointing    for 

250 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

them  if  they  had  gone  without  seeing  me 
again;  and  that  they  thought  that,  in  that 
case,  I  should  have  been  ill-disposed  toward 
them.  They  begged  me  again  to  give  them 
a  man.  I  told  them  that  if  there  was  one 
among  us  who  desired  to  go  with  them,  I 
should  be  very  glad  of  it. 

After  having  made  me  understand  their 
good-will  for  the  last  time,  and  I  mine  to- 
ward them,  the  case  of  a  savage  came  up, 
who  had  been  a  prisoner  of  the  Iroquois 
three  times  and  had  escaped  very  fortunate- 
ly, and  was  resolved  to  go,  with  nine  others, 
to  avenge  the  cruelties  that  his  enemies  had 
made  him  suffer.  All  the  captains  begged 
me  to  dissuade  him  if  I  could,  inasmuch  as 
he  was  very  brave,  and  they  feared  that  if 
he  should  advance  so  far  into  the  enemy 
with  so  small  a  force  he  never  would  re- 
turn. I  did  so,  to  please  them,  by  all  the 
reasons  that  I  could  urge,  which  were  of 
little  effect  upon  him,  as  he  showed  me 
some  of  his  fingers  cut  off  and  great  cuts 
and  burns  on  his  body;  and  he  said  that  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  live  without  kill- 
ing his  enemies  and  having  his  revenge; 
and  that  his  heart  told  him  that  he  must 
depart  as  soon  as  he  could;  which  he 
did. 

When  I  had  finished  with  them  I  begged 
251 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

them  to  take  me  back  in  our  despatch  boat. 
To  do  this  they  prepared  eight  canoes  to 
run  the  rapids,  and  stripped  themseh^es 
naked,  and  made  me  take  off  everything  but 
my  shirt ;  for  often  it  happens  that  some  are 
lost  in  shooting  the  rapids;  therefore,  they 
keep  close  to  one  another,  to  aid  one  an- 
other promptly  if  a  canoe  should  happen  to 
capsize.  They  said  to  me:  ''If  by  chance 
yours  should  happen  to  turn  over,  as  you 
do  not  know  how  to  swim,  on  no  account 
abandon  it,  but  hold  on  to  the  little  sticks 
that  are  in  the  middle,  for  we  will  save  you 
easily."  I  assure  you  that  those  who  have 
not  seen  or  passed  this  place  in  these  little 
boats  that  they  have,  could  not  pass  it  with- 
out great  fear,  even  the  most  self-possessed 
persons  in  the  world.  But  these  people  are 
so  skillful  in  shooting  these  rapids  that  it 
is  easy  for  them.  I  did  it  with  them — 2l 
thing  that  I  never  had  done,  nor  had  any 
Christian,  except  my  youth — and  we  came 
to  our  barks,  where  I  lodged  a  large  num- 
ber of  them. 

There  was  a  young  man  among  us  who 
decided  to  go  with  the  Huron  savages,  who 
live  about  i8o  leagues  from  the  rapids;  and 
he  went  with  Savignon's  brother,  who  was 
one  of  the  captains,  and  he  promised  me  to 
show  him  all  that  he  could. 

252 


SAMUEL   DE   CHAMPLAIN 

The  next  day^  a  number  of  Algonquin 
savages  came.  They  traded  the  little  that 
they  had,  and  made  me  a  special  gift  of 
thirty  beavers,  for  which  I  paid  them.  They 
begged  me  to  continue  in  my  good  ♦feeling 
toward  them ;  which  I  promised  to  do.  They 
talked  to  me  very  particularly  in  regard  to 
some  explorations  in  the  north,  which  could 
be  turned  to  use.  And,  in  connection  with 
this,  they  told  me  that  if  there  was  one  of 
my  companions  who  wished  to  go  with 
them,  they  would  show  him  something  that 
I  would  be  glad  of,  and  that  they  would 
treat  him  like  one  of  their  children.  I  prom- 
ised them  to  give  them  a  young  fellow,^  and 
they  were  very  glad.  When  he  left  me  to 
go  with  them  I  gave  him  a  detailed  memo- 
randum of  things  that  he  ought  to  observe 
among  them. 

After  they  had  traded  the  little  that  they 
had,  they  separated  into  three  groups — one 
to  go  to  war,  one  to  go  up  by  the  rapids, 
and  the  other  by  way  of  a  small  stream, 
which  empties  into  the  great  rapids — and 
they  set  out  on  the  i8th  day  of  this  month,* 
and  we  also. 

'July  12.  The  next  day  after  Pont  Grave  started 
for  Tadoussac.    Voyages  of  Champlain,  III,  3i- 

"Probably  Nicolas  de  Vignau,  L.  For  Vignau 
see  below,  vol.  II,  pp.  i  and  zZy  ff« 

•July  i8,  1611. 


VOYAGES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 

On  the  19th  I  arrived  at  Quebec,  where 
I  decided  to  return  to  France,  and  I  reached 
La  Rochelle  on  the  nth  of  August.^*^ 

"According  to  the  narrative  of  1613  Champlain 
left  Tadoussac  Aug.  11  and  reached  La  Rochelle 
Sept.  16.  Voyages  of  Champlain,  III,  34.  Soon 
after  his  arrival  in  France  Champlain  nearly  lost 
his  life  by  a  fall  from  a  horse.  For  the  further 
details  of  his  stay  there  see  vol.  II,  43,  ff. 


254 


American 
Explorers 

A  SERIES  OF  HISTORICAL  EXPLORATIONS 

With  Introductions,  Illustrations 
/7W«««  and  Maps  jsmo.  Cloth 

Pro£  John  Bach  McMaster 

Consulting  Editor 


FIRST  ACROSS  THE  CONTINENT 
Voyages  from  Montreal  through  the  Continent 
of  North  America  to  the  Frozen  and  Pacific 
Oceans  in  1789  and  1793 
By  Alexander  Mackenzie  /«  tivo  volumes 

THE  GREATEST  AMERICAN  EXPLORATION 

History  of  the  Expedition  under  the  Command 
of  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark  to  the  Sources  of 
the  Missouri,  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  down 
the  Columbia  River  to  the  Pacific  in  1804-1806 
With  an  account  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  by  Prof. 
John  Bach  McMaster,  and  an  Introduction 
In  three  volumes 

A  CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  OF  THE 
FAMOUS  IROQUOIS 

A  History  of  the  Five  Indian  Nations  of  Canada 
which  are  Dependent  upon  the  Province  of  New 
York  By  Cadwallader  Colden         In  tivo  volumes 

AN  EARLY  FUR  TRADER'S  LIFE  AMONG 
THE  INDIANS 

A  Journal  of  Voyages  and  Travels  in  the  In- 
terior of  North  America 

By  Daniel  Wm.  Harmon,  a  partner  in  the  Northwest 
Company 


ACROSS  THE  CONTINENT  IN  SUB-ARTIC 
AMERICA 
The  Wild  Northland.  The  Story  of  a  Winter 
Journey  with   Dogs   across    Northern    North 
America,  1872-1873 
By  Gen.  Sir  Wm.  Francis  Butler,  K.C.B. 

FLORIDA  TO  THE  PACIFIC,  1528-1536 
The  Journey  ol  Alvar  Nunez  Cabeza  de  Vaca, 
and  his  companions  from  Florida  to  the  Pacific, 
1528-1536 

Translated  by  F.Bandelier,  Edited  with  an  Introduction 
by  Ad. F.Bandelier 

THE  FIRST  EXPLORER  OF  THE  SOUTH 

Narrative  of  the  career  of  Hernando  De  Soto  in 
the  Conquest  of  Florida,  1539-1542,  as  told  by  a 
Knight  of  El  vas,  by  Luys  Hernandez  de  Biedma 
and  by  Rodrigo  Ranjel 

Edited  with  an  Introduction  by  Prof.  Edward  G.  Bourne, 
of  Yale  University  In  tivo  'volumes 

AN  HISTORICAL  CLASSIC 
The  Voyages  and  Explorations  of  Samuel  de 
Champlain,  1604-1616,  as  narrated  by  himself 

Translated  by  A.N.  Bourne,  Edited  with  an  Introduction 
by  Prof.  Edward  Gaylord  Bourne,  of  Yale  University 
In  tivo  -volumes 

THE  EXPLORER  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI 
The  Journeys  of  Ren^  Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur 
de  La  Salle,  as  related  by  his  followers  and  col- 
leagues 

Edited  with  an  Introduction  by  Prof.  Isaac  Joslin  Cox, 
Ph.D.  In  tivo  -volumes 

THE  FIRST  EXPLORER  OF  THE  WEST 

The  Journey  of  Coronado,  1540-1542.  From  the 
City  of  Mexico  to  the  Buffalo  Plains  of  Kansas 
and  Nebraska 

Translated  and  Edited  with  an  Introduction  by  George 
Parker  Winship 

ALLERTON  BOOK  CO. 

142  East  59th  Street  New  York 


